The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars
by KatBlue
Summary: AU.Three girls are chosen to fight an evil warlock, who is trying to bring back the middle ages and is after their incredible magical powers. It's an AU with DC,WW,TS,BX. Chapter 24 is up.
1. Chapter 1

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Three girls are chosen to fight an evil warlock, who is trying to bring back the middle ages and is after their incredible magical powers.

A time long ago, the world was filled with wonderful things. People lived in peace and serenity, until one ruins it for the rest of them. There is always one of those, but there will always be another who will be able to bring back the light from where darkness dwells.

In this beautiful place, the days are endless and vibrant. During the nights, they are extraordinary. A kaleidoscope of magic and the sorts encompass the sky creating the beauty of night into a fantasy world of lights and colors.

These incredible sights of this magical place are due to the powers of three powerful families, who have formed a line of magical beings for centuries. Each power comes from a very unique source. One is the sun, another the moon and the last one is the stars. Amulets with the symbols of these sources are ancient and are only known to the three families that the powers belong to.

And in each generation, three will hold the powers of their family line and become the most powerful witches that ever walked the worlds.

* * *

It's 2005, in Los Angeles, California and Dawn Summers is packing up her things as her aunt, Darla calls her from downstairs. She grabs her jacket and heads down the stairs.

"You've got everything?" says Darla.

"Yes, cell phone, bus pass, money," says Dawn. "I'll be fine. It's not like I have not done this before."

"Yes, I know," says Darla as she pushes a strand of Dawn's hair back. "I just want you to be safe, that's all. Don't forget to call me when you're at Buffy's, okay?"

"Okay," replies Dawn with a smile. Darla hugs her tight.

Dawn enters the bus and sits down. She looks around at the strange people on the bus and then grabs onto her necklace that is a half moon. The half moon being a purple jewel. Dawn is heading to her cousin, Buffy's house for the summer in a town called Sunnydale.

* * *

Living in Sunnydale is Buffy and her best friend and roommate, Willow Rosenberg. She's been living with Buffy since the two headed off to college. Willow has had a tough life without any parents. Living in an orphanage all of her life, she befriended Buffy at her school.

"So, when is your cousin coming over?" asks Willow to Buffy.

"She'll be here today," replies Buffy as she fixes her hair. "I have to pick her up at the bus station. Wanna come with?"

"Sure, why not," says Willow.

"So, how are things going with…you know?" asks Buffy and Willow blushes.

"It's good," replies Willow. "I'm not taking any of his classes, but we kind of miss each other because of that."

"You guys really want to give this a go, right?"

"Yeah, it's like it was meant to be. I mean, he knows a lot of history and I kind of like the past."

"Yeah, a little too much. I rather live in the now."

"Everyone is different."

"You are something other than different." Buffy smiles at her friend.

"Nah, I'm as normal as they come." Willow grabs on to her necklace, which is a sun with the stone that is a red color.

"Let's get going." Buffy grabs her jacket and heads out of the house.

As Buffy and Willow walk through the town to get to the bus station, they pass by a blonde girl who accidentally bumps into Willow.

"Sorry," they both say at the same time as they both continue to walk their separate ways.

* * *

This young girl, although Willows age, is not in school. She is headed to the magic shop, a place where they sell scented candles, herbs and maybe some magical items.

"Tara, you're late," says the store owner, a dark haired woman. "I have an important meeting

"I'm sorry," says Tara with her meek voice. "It won't happen again."

"It's okay," replies the woman. "Close the store for me."

"Sure." The woman, named Jenny Calendar, believes in the magic and Tara always likes that about her. Tara puts her things in the back room and heads over to the register.

"That's a beautiful necklace that you're wearing," says a costumer. Tara grabs hold of her necklace, with three little stars forming a diamond in the middle. The three stars are made of a green stone. "Do you sell those in the store?"

"Oh, no," replies Tara. "I'm sorry. It's a family heirloom."

"Oh, it's very beautiful."

"Thank you."

Dawn arrives at the Sunnydale bus station and is searching for her cousin Buffy. There are so many people walking that she can't see anyone at all.

"I think this is her bus," says Buffy standing next to one of the buses. "I don't see her." Willow looks around and sees a young teenager, with long brown hair standing in the middle of a crowd.

"There she is," says Willow as she walks over to her. Buffy turns around and sees Willow walk over to her cousin Dawn. She follows Willow quickly and gives Dawn a hug.

"Hey, squirt," says Buffy.

"Don't call me that," says Dawn. "I'm taller than you."

"Okay, sorry. Dawn, this is my best friend Willow."

"Hi, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you. Buffy has talked about you a lot," says Willow as she shakes her hand. Nobody noticed but when the two girls shook hands, their necklaces shimmer.

"Come on. You must be hungry," says Buffy.

"A little," replies Dawn as Buffy puts her arm over Dawn's shoulder.

"Buffy, do you think we can make a quick stop at the magic shop?" says Willow. "I need to get some herbs."

"A magic shop?" says Dawn.

"Oh no," says Buffy. "You've found Dawn's weak spot."

"You like magic?" asks Willow.

"Yeah, it's kind of interesting," says Dawn with a smile. "Magical spells and stuff. What could be wrong with that?"

The three girls enter the magic shop. Willow leads Dawn over to the herbs. Buffy looks at the scented candles and then from nowhere, a dark haired man comes up to her.

"You should take that one," says the man pointing to one of the candles on the table. Buffy looks at the handsome man and then takes the candle to smell it.

"It smells nice," says Buffy with a smile.

"We're done," says Willow walking up to Buffy, with Dawn at her side.

"Buffy, I've got this really neat book," says Dawn.

"If she burns the house down, you are going to pay for it," says Buffy to Willow.

"Don't worry," says Willow. "They're harmless." Buffy turns around to see if the man that insisted for her to get the candle is still there, but he is nowhere in sight. The three head over to the register to buy their things. Tara greets them with a smile.

"Is that all?" says Tara.

"Yep," replies Willow as she hands over the money. Their hands touch slightly and both their necklaces shimmer. From the back of the room, the man that Buffy had met sees this and knows exactly what it means.

"Thank you," says Tara. "Come back again." The girls get their things and head out of the shop.

As the three head down the street, the man from the shop watches them and then looks inside the shop at Tara.

"I've found them," he says to himself. "Finally."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The three girls are finally in the same town. Now how to get them together is the tricky part.

The girls stop by a pizzeria and order a large pizza with cheese for the three. They sit down and drink their sodas. It is already pretty dark out and Dawn feels this cool chill run up her spine. She shivers and takes a look around.

"You cold?" asks Buffy.

"No," replies Dawn. "I just got a funny feeling."

"I get those sometimes," says Willow. "Like you know something is going to happen."

"Exactly."

"You guys are creeping me out," says Buffy.

"What's creepy is that guy at the corner watching us from the moment we sat down," says Dawn. Her back is turned to the corner that she is indicating and Buffy sees that the guy is the same guy from the magic shop.

"That's the same guy I saw at the magic shop," says Buffy trying not to stare at him.

"Are you sure?" asks Willow as she quickly glances at the guy.

"Yeah, he was wearing a black, long trench coat."

"Maybe he's stalking you, Buffy," says Dawn.

"I wouldn't mind. Besides, he's hot."

"Buffy, that's so not right."

"Dawn relax. I know how to handle myself. Willow and I took a self defense class together."

"Yeah, and Buffy learned more about the instructor than how to handle someone trying to steal your purse," says Willow with a smile. Dawn laughs at that as she takes a sip of her soda.

"That is so not true," says Buffy. "I paid lots of attention."

"Sure. When you weren't…"

"Willow, not the right time to talk about this."

"Okay. Hey, look the pizza's here."

After the girls finish eating, they noticed that the guy that was watching them had left. The three then head to Buffy's, which is a block away from the pizzeria.

"You upset that your mystery guy didn't follow you home," says Willow as they enter the house.

"Nah," says Buffy with smile. "Dawn, don't forget to call Aunt Darla."

"Yeah, I'm going," says Dawn as she puts her stuff down and heads over to the phone.

"Willow, can I ask you something?" asks Buffy.

"What?" Willow asks.

"You've never met Dawn and I've never shown a picture of her to you. How did you know it was her at the bus station?"

"I guessed."

"It was a pretty good guess."

"Well, I'm pretty beat," says Willow. Dawn finishes talking to Darla and walks over to Willow and Buffy.

"Ah come on," says Dawn. "We could have like a slumber party. Watch movies and stuff."

"Sounds like something fun. Remember that, Willow?" says Buffy nudging her.

"Alright, two movies then it's off to the land of dreams for me," says Willow.

"Yeah, I'll go make the popcorn. Willow, why don't you take Dawn upstairs to her room?"

"I have a room?" asks Dawn.

"It's almost a room. Still got some junk in it, but livable space for a small creature like yourself." Dawn smiles as Willow leads the way up the stairs.

"Gee, thanks." Dawn smiles again.

Willow opens the door for Dawn and she enters her new room. It's not the Hilton, but it's livable like Buffy said. Dawn puts her stuff on the bed and turns to Willow.

"You like it?" asks Willow.

"Yeah, it's nice," replies Dawn with a smile. She starts to take some stuff out of her bag.

"Dawn, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"How did you know about the guy who was watching us at the pizzeria? I mean you couldn't have seen him. You had your back towards him."

"I don't know. I just get these feelings. That's all. Like if I had eyes in the back of my head." Dawn laughs at what she said. "I wanted to ask you something, too?"

"What is it?"

"I kind of always had this interest in magic's and stuff. Since you know a lot about it, maybe you can teach me something."

"I don't think Buffy will like that. Besides, I just dabble in a couple of things. I'm not a full blown witch if that's what you think."

"Well, maybe we can work on that together. You know, two heads are better than one." Willow smiles.

"Maybe. Buffy really isn't too fond of the whole idea. I really don't know why. I mean she believes, but she doesn't want anything to do with it."

"Maybe we can find her a guy, get her laid, and then ask her."

"Dawn." Willow gives Dawn a smile. "Sounds like a plan, but I think Buffy will see right through it."

"Oh, well. I'm going to shower."

"Bathroom's down the hall. First door."

"You should think about it." Dawn calls out as she closes the bathroom door. Willow nods her head and goes to her room to change.

A couple minutes later, Dawn and Willow come down the stairs wearing their pj's. Buffy comes into the living room with a big bowl of popcorn. She then heads upstairs to change, while Willow gets the drinks and Dawn checks the TV guide for the movies.

The girls sit down on the sofa covering up with a blanket and start watching a scary movie. The lights are all off except for a small lamp on the other side of the room.

"That girl is so going die," says Buffy taking a sip of her drink. Willow and Dawn look at Buffy. "Well, she is."

"Will you shut up and let us watch the movie, Buffy," says Dawn. Willow laughs a little as she takes some popcorn.

The woman in the movie is walking home alone at night. She walks through a dark street and starts to realize that someone is following her. The woman begins to walk faster and then she starts to run.

She arrives to her house and quickly takes her keys out. The keys fall out of her hand onto the ground. She goes down to get them and tries to open the door as fast as she can. Entering the house, she closes the door and takes a deep breath.

"See, she's not going to die," says Dawn. Buffy rolls her eyes.

The woman then puts her things down on a table. She walks over to the living room and sits down on the sofa in relief that she is safe in her home. Putting her hands on her face, she suddenly hears something. She takes her hands off of her face and looks over to the door. The door handle begins to move and her eyes widen.

Meanwhile as Tara is closing the magic shop, she senses something. She locks the door and puts the keys into her purse. When she turns around she sees a lantern across the street suddenly start to flicker. Then something pushes her and she falls against the magic shop's door. Something starts to strangle her.

"Help," Tara tries to scream as she struggles with an invisible abductor.

By some miracle, a bright light scares off whatever the something that is hurting her. She quickly pulls away and grabs onto her neck taking slow breaths. Her necklace shimmers a little again.

Then out of nowhere comes a guy who raises his hands and bright lights come out of them. Tara gets blinded by the lights, but what is strange to her is that she sees five people run away and disappear into the darkness. When the lights cease, Tara looks at the guy who begins to walk over to her.

"Are you okay?" says the guy. "That was kind of close." Tara is completely in shock and faints. The guy quickly catches her before she falls to the ground. "Oh, great." He then picks her up and with some words he says quickly, disappears with Tara in his arms.

Back at Buffy's, the girls are watching the woman in the movie stare at the doorknob that starts to move. She begins to breathe heavily as she gets up and walks over to the door.

Buffy, Dawn, and Willow are huddled on the sofa in suspense and wondering what will happen next to the girl in the movie as she approaches the door. Then the girls hear a knocking on the door. The three jump and realize that it's their door. Buffy gets up to get the door.

When she opens the door she sees the man from the magic shop carrying the shop keeper. Willow and Dawn get up to see who is at the door.

"Can I come in?" says the guy as he enters the house without Buffy's consent.

"What's going on here?" asks Buffy. "Who are you? What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her," replies the guy. "She's just unconscious. Almost got jumped by some bad people." The guy heads over to the sofa and lays Tara down.

"Will she be okay?" asks Willow. "Is she hurt?"  
"No," replies the guy.

"Hold it, buddy," says Buffy pulling the guy aside and away from Dawn and Willow. "You still haven't answered my questions and why were you following us?"

"You won't believe me if I told you," says the guy. "But here is the truth. My name is Alexander and I'm a wizard. I was sent to this world to find the three of you. Dawn, Willow, and Tara. They are descendents from three very powerful families."

"What?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The girls meet a wizard who is trying to bring the good and powerful witches together to fight, obviously, evil.

"That sounds like crazy talk mister, mister wizard," says Willow.

"Just call me Xander," says the wizard. "Look, I'm here to help and protect you from…"

"From what? Evil?" says Dawn. "That is what's after us, right? Some kind of warlock or demon."

"Warlock, but demons work for him."

"This is so cool. I mean I knew something was going to happen. Something great, but I had no idea it was this."

"No way," says Buffy. "You're insane. Now get out of my house before I call the cops." Buffy pushes Xander to the front door. Xander looks at the door and sees the handle moving. He moves away from the door and Buffy and Willow see the handle move. "Is this some kind of joke? Are your friends pulling a prank on us?" Then the windows start rattling as if someone was trying to come in, but there is no one by the windows that they can see.

"Those aren't my friends," replies Xander. Buffy and Willow back away from the door and get behind Xander. Dawn runs up the stairs to her room.

"Dawn, good go upstairs," says Buffy. "Wizard guy, protect us."

"Oh, now you believe me." Dawn comes down the stairs with the spell book she got at the magic shop. She reads something from it.

"Bippity boppity boo," says Dawn as she waves her arm. In a second the door and window cease to rattle and all is silent. Willow, Buffy, and Xander look up at Dawn. She smiles at them and walks down the stairs.

"That actually worked," says both Buffy and Xander. The two stare at each other.

"No, I said the spell before I said that," says Dawn. "And it worked. This is so cool, Buffy I'm a witch."

"No, no. This is not cool," says Buffy as she follows Dawn into the living room. Willow and Xander follow. "Dawn this is scary. Really scary."

"What was that outside?" asks Willow to Xander.

"They were the warlock's minions," Xander explains. "Shadow creatures. They move in the dark."

"How did they know where to find us?"

"You three must have gotten close or used your powers."  
"Well, when we were paying at the magic shop we were pretty close. I don't know about using my powers. I didn't even know I had any."

"Well, you do. The three of you do. Willow you have the power that comes from the sun. Fire, energy, and light. Your power is at its peak during the day."

"That sounds neat." Willow smiles and then sees Buffy. "If you like all that."

"Willow, I can't believe that you believe him," says Buffy.

"Buffy, it makes sense. You've always said that I'm different and now I know I am."

"What kind of powers do I have?" asks Dawn.

"Well, yours are drawn from the moon," Xander explains. "You have the opposite of Willow's powers. You have the power to move water and freeze it, also light which connects the three of you."

"What about Tara?" asks Willow. "What's her power?"

"Don't you think that she would want to know first?" says Xander. Xander points at her and Tara wakes up immediately.

"Huh, what am I doing here?" asks Tara. "How did I get here?"

"It's okay, Tara," says Willow. "We're not going to hurt you."

"You," says Tara pointing at Xander. "When someone attacked me. I couldn't see."

"I was there only to protect you, Tara," says Xander.

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm a wizard. Just call me Xander. You come from a line of witches from a long time ago. You're powers are ancient. That's why I was sent to protect you from any evil that comes your way to take your powers."

"This is crazy. I'm not a witch."

"Yes, you are. You, Willow, and Dawn. You have powers and a lot bad people want them."

"No. No!" Tara gets up from the sofa and runs over to the door.

"Tara, you have to stay here. It's not safe out there."

"No, leave me alone." Tara waves her arm and sends Xander flying across the room. She opens the door and runs out of the house.

"Oh, my gosh," says Buffy. She tries to reach Xander who was under some wall debris.

"Should we go after her?" asks Dawn.

"No, let her be," says Willow. "That was some power." Dawn closes the front door and locks it.

"Willow, help me here," says Buffy. Willow runs over to help pull Xander up.

"Are you okay?" asks Buffy as they get him up.

"Yeah, been hit further than this, but the wall broke my fall and my back," says Xander. The girls lay him down on the sofa. Willow and Buffy sit next to him and try to put some pillows to make him more comfortable.

"Sorry about your wall."

"It's okay."

"Hey, I think I can fix the wall," says Dawn as she looks at her book.

"No, Dawn. No more magic," says Buffy.

"Your cousin's right. Don't use any magic," says Xander.

"I'll go get some ice," says Willow as she heads to the kitchen.

"I'll get the first aid kit," says Dawn as she heads upstairs.

"Does it hurt?" asks Buffy.

"Just when I move," replies Xander.

"Don't move."

"I've lived many years. This is nothing."

"You call this nothing. You might have a broken back."

"Maybe."

"Here's the ice," says Willow. Buffy takes it and puts it on his head where he has a big bump.

"Wow, she's got some power," says Buffy. "Is she the most powerful of the three?"  
"No, her power comes from the stars and she has gravitational force as well as light like the others," Xander explains.

"Gravitational force?"

"Pretty much she can move things with her mind."

"Oh."

"Here is the first aid kit," says Dawn.

"Dawn, hold the ice here for me," says Buffy. They switch places and Buffy starts to rummage through the first aid pack. Xander has a couple of cuts and bruises on his face where he has the bump. Buffy begins to clean them up.

"You really don't have to do this. I'm fine," says Xander. "Ouch." Buffy touches his wound as she is cleaning it.

"Sorry." Buffy then turns to Willow. "I think we should take him upstairs. Get him to a more comfortable place."

"Buffy, if we do that we could hurt him," says Willow.

"Girls, you don't need to this," says Xander. "I'm fine right here."

"It's for your own good," says Buffy. "You need to be comfortable. He could have my bed."

"Well, if you insist." With a wave of his arm he disappears from the sofa and reappears upstairs in Buffy's room.

"Where did he go?" asks Buffy.

"I'm up here." The girls run upstairs and head over to Buffy's room. They see Xander already make himself very comfortable on Buffy's bed.

"I'm not going to ask. Lets all just get some sleep."

"Thanks for the bed, Buffy."

"You're welcome." The girls leave the room and as Buffy is about to close the door, Xander calls her.

"You remind me of someone. Are you sure you're not a…"

"Believe me. If I had magical powers, I would have been the first one to blast you out my house." Buffy gives him a sweet smile. Xander smiles back at her as she closes the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Tara freaked out about her being a witch. Will Xander and the others find her before something evil finds her first?

In Dawn's room, Buffy moves over on the bed that she is sharing with Dawn and then realizes that the bed isn't her own queen sized bed and falls to the ground. Dawn quickly wakes up as she finds Buffy on the floor.

"Buffy, are you okay?" asks Dawn.

"Yeah," replies Buffy. "The carpet broke my fall. Ouch." Buffy gets up and heads over to the bathroom, but the door won't budge. "Willow, it's me. One bathroom, three girls. Come on, open up."

Willow comes out of her room and sees a sleepy Buffy knocking on the bathroom door. Buffy then turns her head and sees Willow and then she turns her head back to the bathroom door.

"Buffy, don't you remember," says Willow. "It's probably Xander."

"Oh, right," says Buffy still asleep. The bathroom door opens and Xander comes out of it. "Where did you get the pajamas? Never mind." Xander is wearing some green, silk shirt and pant pajamas. Buffy walks by him and enters the bathroom.

"She's a morning person," says Xander sarcastically.

"How are you doing?" asks Willow.

"Oh, I'm good. A little achy, but I'll live." Xander waves his arm and he then was changed back to the clothes he had on last night.

"Is that the only outfit you've got?" asks Dawn.

"Dawn," says Willow.

"No, it's the less conspicuous outfit I got," replies Xander.

"Can we do that?" asks Dawn. "You know, change outfits and stuff?"

"Yeah, conjuring," replies Xander. "But I think that's a little too advanced for you."

"Ah come on, I did that spell yesterday. I know I could pull it off." Buffy comes out of the bathroom and she is a different woman. She has her hair put up in a pony tail and seems to finally be awake.

"Buffy, Xander here is going to teach us how to conjure up stuff. It's going to be so cool."

"What?" asks Buffy glaring at Xander.

"I didn't say that," says Xander feeling a little afraid of Buffy.

"There will be no more talking about spells, magic, or any of the sort."

"Fine," the others say in surrender.

"Now, we are going to go downstairs and eat a nice, normal, healthy breakfast. Okay?" Buffy heads downstairs.

"Can I help?" asks Xander as he catches up to her on the stairs.

"With what?"

"Breakfast."

"Um." Buffy turns to him. "Do you know how to cook?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Follow me." They arrive downstairs and head over to the kitchen.

Back upstairs, Willow enters the bathroom. Dawn walks over to the stairs to see if she hears what's going on down there. Willow then comes over to Dawn.

"I think he's got a little thing for Buffy," says Dawn knowing that Willow was behind her without looking.

"Me, too," replies Willow knowing what Dawn is talking about. The two wait a while, until they head downstairs also. They walk into the kitchen and see Xander staring at Buffy as she is explaining to him what he should be doing. She has her back to him and Xander is beating the eggs in a bowl with magic. Dawn enters the kitchen with a smile and watches as the beater is stirring the eggs alone.

"Are you listening to me?" asks Buffy as she turns around. Xander quickly grabs the beater and stops it. He smiles at her. "Oh, I didn't hear you guys come down."

"Buffy, what are we going to do about the wall?" asks Willow.

"I don't know," replies Buffy. "We need to call a construction worker to fix it."  
"What do we tell them when he asks what happened?"

"The wall is not a problem. I can fix it," says Xander.

"You can fix it," says Buffy putting her hands on her tiny hips.

"I'm a wizard, aren't I? Besides, it's my fault." Xander heads over to the living room. Buffy follows him as do the others. "Construction is pretty hard. It's a level three in witchcraft. But for us wizards all we need is…" Xander concentrates and spreads his hands apart. A bright light hits the wall and the wall transforms into its normal state.

"Wow," says Willow and Dawn.

"I guess you're kind of handy," says Buffy.

"Thanks."

Meanwhile, a couple houses away, a dark haired woman wakes up her daughter. The young woman wakes and sees a worried expression on her mother's face.

"Where have you been all night?" asks her mother.

"I…I'm sorry," says Tara as she gets up.

"I've been worried sick. What happened?"

"I lost track of time."

"Lost track of time? What time did you come in?"

"I don't remember. It won't happen again, I promise." Tara gets off of her bed and heads over to the bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror and sees something strange. It's like she is seeing a panoramic view of a beautiful land in the mirror. She then sees a frog in a pond and it jumps out of the mirror and into her arms. Tara screams and her mother runs over to the bathroom door.

"Tara, are you okay?" asks her mother. She drops the frog on the floor and heads over to the door.

"I'm fine," replies Tara. "It's just a bug. I got startled by it."

"Don't scare me like that."

"I'm sorry." Tara leans on the door and looks at the frog on the floor. She nods her head and starts to walk back and forth in the bathroom. Then she notices that the frog has a little necklace around its neck. She bends down to take a closer look and the frog sticks his tongue out at her. "Ewww, gross." Tara falls back against the wall and wipes her face.

"I'm sorry," says someone. "I didn't mean to do that." Tara looks around the room. She gets up and walks over to the shower and then looks inside.

"Who's talking?"

"You can hear me?"  
"Of course I can hear you. Where are you?"

"I'm down here."

"Where?"

"Next to your feet." Tara looks down and sees the frog look up at her.

"Are you speaking to me?" Tara lowers herself down to the frog's level.

"Yes, you must be a witch or some magical being if you can hear me."

"How's this possible?"

"It's a little thing called magic. See, I was turned into a frog by an evil witch."

"If I'm a witch, how do you know that I'm not evil?"

"You can't be. You're so pretty and if you were evil, you would have stepped on me the moment you saw me."

"Oh."

"Tara, are you coming out of that bathroom today?" asks her mother.

"I'll be right there," says Tara. "I have to go."  
"But please, could you help me?"

"How can I do that?"

"You could help me by finding the witch who turned me or you can undo the spell."

"I don't know. I just dab in a little stuff but…"

"Please. My life depends on it."

"Okay. I'll try." Tara picks up the frog. She takes a peek out the bathroom and sees that the hallway is clear. Then she rushes into her room and closes the door. She puts the frog on her bed. "I have to change first."

"Who are you talking to Tara?" asks her mother who surprises her.

"No one," replies Tara trying to cover the frog with her blankets. "I'll be at the shop soon."

"Eat breakfast before you come."

"I will."

"Love you."

"Love you, too." Tara gives her mom a smile as she heads down the hall and down the stairs. She quickly turns back to the bed and takes the blanket off of the frog.

"It was way too dark in there," says the frog.

"Sorry. My mom's not so thrilled about animals, especially frogs that talk."

"I'm not just any frog. I happen to be a Prince."

"Oh, like the fairy tale."

"What fairy tale?"

"Never mind." Tara starts to take off her shirt when she realizes something. "I'm going to change in the bathroom."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

As Tara starts finding out about Kermit's home, Willow and Dawn feel danger coming. Thanks to TammyDevil666 for the frog idea. Love ya!

Tara puts her new frog friend in her purse and heads to the magic shop. Her mother is already there restocking the shelves. As Tara enters, she quickly makes it to the back room before her mother could see her.

"Alright, I think that you'll be safe here," says Tara.

"I think I'm going to be sick, love," says the frog feeling a little woozy.

"Sorry," says Tara. "I needed to get here fast." Tara sighs and then sits down next to the frog.

"So, what you are doing here? Aren't ya going to search for the witch who turned me like this? I think that she's more than a hundred."

"Why did she turn you into a frog?"

"That's not important. I really wish you'd stop asking so many questions and try to find her."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. Does it look like I'm a warlock? You're a witch, you should know how."

"This is too weird. I mean, one day I'm just an ordinary kid and the next I'm a witch and this wizard is telling me I come from a line of this ancient family of witches."

"What line? Did he say a name?"

"I didn't give him a chance. I kind of blew him away."

"Gee, that was smart."

"How was I supposed to know that this is all true, that demons and warlocks are real and that they are out to get me?" The frog looks at a frightened Tara and sees that she is wearing a necklace with three stars.

"Your wizard friend was right. You are a very powerful witch. Your necklace is the source of your power. It is the symbol of who you are."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I come from the world that you came from."

Back at Buffy's house, the girls and Xander ate breakfast. Xander then explains more about their world and the warlock who is after their powers.

"So, this guy named Ethan is a warlock," says Buffy.

"He's been after your powers for centuries," says Xander to Willow and Dawn. "Your family knew that, so they hid you three passing from dimension to dimension until they found the safest place for you three to live in."

"Why weren't we put together?" asks Dawn.

"If you were, you might have used your powers earlier on Ethan and he would have found you sooner."

"So, we need to find Tara," says Willow. "She was so freaked out. I mean we should be freaked out, too, but…"

"We're not," says Dawn. "It's cool. I knew I was something special."

"Of course, Dawn," says Xander as he gives her a grin.

"Well, maybe we should check the magic shop since she works there," says Buffy as she begins to clear the table.

"Wait, there is no need for that," says Xander as he takes Buffy's plate out of her hands. He stands up and assumes the position of a baseball player. "One, two, three." He pretends to throw a ball and in an instant the plates disappear and the table is clean.

"Where did they go?" asks Buffy.

"To the dish washer," replies Xander. Buffy and the girls go into the kitchen and see the dish washer start by itself.

"That was impressive. The first man I've known that washes dishes. In a not so old fashioned way." Buffy goes right by Xander and he watches her head to the stairs. Dawn snaps her fingers. Xander snaps out of what he is thinking and looks at Dawn.

"You're from different worlds. It will never work out," says Dawn.

"Dawn," says Willow.

"Maybe we should go find Tara," says Xander.

The girls head upstairs to change, while Xander waits downstairs. He sits down on the sofa for a while and passes his hands through his hair, then he senses someone walk into the room. He looks up and sees Buffy.

"Do you think it's safe out there for them?" asks Buffy.

"It's never safe," says Xander as he gets up. "As long as they don't use their powers, he can't track them."

"She's my cousin."

"Huh?"

"Dawn, she's my cousin not my sister."

"Oh, I just thought…"

"It's okay. A lot of people do that. Once they even said that I was her mom. Where is her mom? Is she alive?"

"I've been away from our world for many years. I haven't the slightest idea." Dawn and Willow arrive downstairs ready to head out. "I've gotta go."

"Protect them." Buffy turns to Xander.

"It's my job."

"And be careful."

"We will," says both Dawn and Willow. Though the precaution was really meant for Xander.

The three head to the magic shop. Xander is keeping close watch for shape shifters and other demons that can walk among the living. Willow and Dawn enter first and then Xander follows. They walk down the steps and see that there are a couple of costumers, but they do not see Tara.

"Can I help you?" asks Jenny.

"We're looking for Tara, is she here?" asks Willow.

"Yes, she's in the back," replies Jenny. "I'll go get her." Jenny heads to the back room and as she attempts to open the door, she is unable to.

Tara on the other side uses her power to keep her mother from entering the room. She quickly puts her frog friend into her purse and releases the door.

"My goodness, what's wrong with that door?" says Jenny.

"Did you want something?" asks Tara.

"First of all, are you going to come out of this room any time today and secondly, three friends of yours are looking for you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Don't keep them waiting." Tara grabs her purse and quickly rushes by her mother. As she walks out of the back room, she stops in her tracks.

"There she is," says Xander.

"Xander, I think you better wait here," says Willow. "She seems to not trust you. We'll handle it."

"But whatever you do, don't connect."

"What?"

"If the three of you are touching together, you will form and Ethan will track you immediately." Willow nods her head and walks over to Tara slowly.

"Hi, Tara." Tara backs away. "You don't have to be afraid. This is weird for us, too."

"You've gotta believe in it," says Dawn. "I mean, you work in a magic shop."

"I was scared last night. I'm sorry for the mess. Is he alright?" Willow turns around and calls Xander.

"Hey," says Xander. "I'm okay. Thanks for asking." Dawn and Willow look at him. "Super hearing."

"I have something to show you."

Suddenly one of the costumers gets really angry and starts to run towards the girls. Xander pushes the girls together behind him and faces this person who starts to turn into something else. The other people start to scream and run out of the shop.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The girls must stick together if they are to survive. Will Tara join Dawn and Willow?

Xander touches the ground with his hand, then raises it back just before the unruly costumers get to them. They crashed into a force field, which Xander makes to protect them all.

"Okay, now we have a problem," says Xander. Dawn and Willow look at each other and then at Tara.

"What can we do?" asks Willow.

"Join hands," says Xander as he gets in the middle of the three. "  
"What are you doing?" asks Dawn.

"Helping. You need to direct your energy that way."  
"Why are you in the middle?" asks Tara.

"Because I don't want to get burned." The three girls look at each other.

"I'm going to pull the shield down and then you three are going to concentrate and aim at those shape shifters right over there."

"What if we hurt someone?" asks Willow.

"Everyone is out of the shop. You just have to trust yourself to aim at them."

"Are you sure we can do this?" asks Dawn.

"I trust you." The girls grab hold of each other's hands. Their necklace's start to glow and they close their eyes. Xander takes off the shield and the girls aim toward the shape shifters. The three burn up as the bright light washes them away. The lights become lower and the girls open their eyes.

"We did it?" asks Tara. She looks around and doesn't see the shape shifters.

"Yeah, you did," says Xander with a grin.

"Hey, it's getting stuffy in here," says the frog in Tara's purse. He then jumps out of her purse and they all look at Tara.

"Oh my goodness," says Willow. "Did that frog just talk?"

"What? You haven't seen animals talk before? It's not something new, Red," says the frog.

"He has an attitude," says Dawn.

"He should," says Xander getting close to the frog. "Is that you, William?"

"Harris, haven't seen you in a while. Been in the mortal realm protecting witches."  
"Yeah, when did you get all green?"

"Long story. So, you girls could help me out here, right?"  
"How?" asks Dawn.

"Well, you could find the spell that changed me into this. You're witches, aren't you?"

"Tara, what in the world happened here?" asks Jenny coming out from the counter. "Oh my gosh. What's a frog doing in here?"

"It's for school, mom," says Tara.

"School? You better not be taking me to get dissected or something," says the frog. They all look at the frog and then at Jenny, who didn't seem to have heard the frog.

Dawn grabs hold of her necklace and starts to whisper something. To all their surprise, they see Jenny begin to move in slow motion and then completely freeze on the spot. They all look at Dawn, who opens her eyes and sees what she has done.

"It worked," says Dawn.

"How did you do that?" asks Tara.

"We're witches," says Dawn. "Don't worry. She's only frozen in time. She's alright; at least I think she is. Is she?" Dawn turns to Xander.

"Yes, she's fine," replies Xander with a reassuring smile. "We better get back to the house."

"Yeah, I'm sure you want to get back to Buffy," says Dawn with a grin.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing."

"What are you going to do with my mother?" asks Tara.

"Oh, don't worry," says Xander. "I've got that covered. She won't remember anything that happened, or us." Xander pulls out some magic dust and blows it at Jenny. "Let's get going before she comes to." Tara grabs the frog and puts him in her bag. They all head out of the magic shop and Jenny wakes when she hears the bell on the magic shop door ring.

* * *

Once they arrive at Buffy's, they all gather in the living room. Buffy goes up to Xander and has a worried expression on her face. Xander notices this and turns to her. 

"I think there's something in the house," says Buffy. The three witches quickly rise when they hear this. "I don't know what it is." Xander begins to search through the house.

"Do you have a basement?" asks Xander. Buffy nods her head yes and leads him to the basement door. Xander opens the door slowly and then in his hand, he conjures up a ball of light. He then enters and walks down the steps. The girls watch him as he moves the ball of light around to see. He hears something growl at him.

"Did you find anything?" asks Buffy from the top of the stairs. Xander turns to the stairs and looks up at Buffy.

"No, everything seems to be normal here," replies Xander. He turns around and takes another look around the basement and then something comes out of the darkness and jumps on him. It knocks Xander down and his ball of light. The girls upstairs hear it and Buffy is the first one down the stairs. Something passes by Buffy and she freaks. She trips over the stairs and falls on top of Xander.

"Dawn, close the door," says Buffy. She turns around and looks at Xander. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," replies Xander with a grin as he attempts to get up, then helps Buffy.

"Buffy, you don't have to worry," says Dawn.

"Why?"

"Cause your scary monster is just a cat."

"A pretty strong cat," says Xander. Buffy and Xander return upstairs and see the cat in better light. It's a brown, furry cat with very pretty blue eyes.

"He seems to like you, Dawn," says Willow as the cat in Dawn's arms begins to purr.

"I have no idea how that cat could have gotten inside," says Buffy. "I mean, all the windows are closed."

"Can I keep him?" says Dawn.  
"No, you know Aunt Darla is allergic to cats."

"But he can stay here."  
"No. Dawn, he probably belongs to someone. He's got a collar." Dawn pulls the collar to see if it has an address or a name. She only sees a tiny letter c.

"There's nothing, but this letter c. Oh, he can be our familiar. We can name him Charlie." Willow and Tara smile at the name that Dawn has picked for the cat. "Maybe Chester."

"How about no name," says Buffy. "He's going back to his owner tomorrow." Dawn puts a sad face and then she heads over to the living room with the cat.

"If we don't find his home can we keep him?" asks Dawn. "I promise I'll take care of him all the time I'm here. Please?" Everyone else looks at Buffy also, with faces saying 'please.' Buffy sighs and gives up.

"Alright," says Buffy. "If he is not claimed, then you can keep him. I'm such a softy."

"Nah, you're cute," says Xander as he touches her shoulder. Then he realizes that he said cute instead of sweet. "I mean, sweet." Buffy looks at him and nods her head.

"Thanks."

"Hey, can we stop talking about the bloody cat and start to talking about me?" says William the frog. Everyone puts their attention on William, except for Buffy who could not hear him.

"Sorry," they all say.

"Why did you guys say sorry?" asks Buffy. Xander then explains to her that Tara's frog is really a man who was turned into a frog by an evil witch and she can't hear him because he is a mystical being that only witches and wizards can hear.

They tried spells, incantations, and even potions, but nothing worked. William was still a frog and the witches were out of ideas. They all sigh and sit on the sofa. Dawn still has the cat in her arms and she is petting it softly, which he likes very much.

"We tried everything," says Tara. "I'm so sorry, William."

"It's okay," says William rolling his eyes. "I guess I'll have to get used to being a frog and eating flies."

"Ewww," says Dawn.

"What do we do now?" asks Buffy.

"Oh, Wesley," says Willow. They all put their attention to Willow. "He has old books and maybe they could help us find this witch that turned you into a frog."

"That's the kind of books that he has."

"He has many. It's kind of his favorite topic."

"Are you sure he's not a warlock?" asks both Buffy and Xander. The two look at each other.

"No," says Willow. "I don't think."

"Maybe I should go with you, just in case," says Xander.

"Okay," says Willow as she gets up to get her coat.

"I'm sure he's not a warlock," says Buffy trying to make Willow feel better.

"I hope so."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Investigating and trying to find a spell that will return William the frog into his former self, the girls discover other secrets in their lives.

Willow and Xander leave the house, hoping that Wesley is not a warlock and will help them uncover the witch or the spell that transformed William into this very state. As they walk up the sidewalk to his house, Willow stops suddenly.

"Oh my gosh," says Willow. "What am I going to say to him?"

"Huh," says Xander.

"I mean, he's going to find it weird that I would be interested in this topic, which I never really was interested in before. Should I tell him the truth that I'm a witch, but wouldn't that freak him out? What am I going to do?"

"Willow, calm down. Breathe and relax. I think that you should tell him the truth. We guys do like to know the truth, just like you girls do."

"Okay." They walk up to the door.

"But if he doesn't ask, you really don't have to mention anything. And if he ends up being a warl…Umm well, I'm sure that's not true." Willow gives him a worried expression. She then turns to the door and knocks.

Back at Buffy's, the girls sit and wait for Willow and Xander to return. Buffy gets some water for them.

"Hey, maybe we can a make pond in the backyard with lily pads and it can be William's home," says Dawn. Tara, Buffy, and William stare at her. "What? I'm just trying to give you a home."

"The bit is right," says William. "I'm going to be green for the rest of my life. I might as well get used to it."

"We haven't lost hope yet, William," says Tara as she strokes his head.

"Yeah, if Willow says she's got something, then it's the real thing," says Buffy even though she can't hear the frog. "She'll come through."

"I'm going upstairs to play with…Clark. Get it, with the blue eyes?" says Dawn. Buffy glares at her. "You're just no fun, Buff." Dawn heads upstairs and goes to her room. She puts the cat on the floor and the cat quickly jumps on the bed. "Alright kitty, you stay here while I take a nice bath." Dawn grabs some clothes and then rubs the little cat's head. She leaves the room and heads into the bathroom.

Suddenly the cat starts to change into a human. The human form is sitting on Dawn's bed looking around. He starts to look in her bag, but finds nothing of interest. He then turns to the door. The young man opens it and peaks out into the hall to make sure no one is coming. He quickly goes over to the bathroom door and opens it slightly, then shuts it closed locking it.

The young man looks at the tub and sees Dawn in the water, with bubbles all over. She has her eyes closed and the water is still running. He walks over to her and Dawn senses someone in the room and opens her eyes. She is shocked to see a young man in the bathroom with her. Dawn tries to scream, but he puts his hand over her mouth.

"Calm down," he says. "I'm not going to hurt you." Dawn with terror in her eyes sees that the young man has the same necklace as the cat. She then searches for her sponge under the water and at the right moment, slaps the guy with the sponge full of soap into his face. The young man falls back in pain trying to wipe his eyes clean.

Dawn quickly gets up and grabs a towel to cover herself. She then faces a long mirror that hangs on the back of the bathroom door and starts to see a place. Scenery of a beautiful land, then a castle with some men talking. The young man, finally able to see, gets up and pushes Dawn aside and then with the wave of his hand moves away the mirror shattering it against the wall. He looks at Dawn, as he is on top of her and stares into her eyes.

From downstairs, Tara and Buffy hear the mirror shatter and quickly run up the stairs calling for Dawn. Buffy gets to the door first, but could not open it.

"Step aside," says Tara. She pushes the door open with a lot of force and the door flies off its hinges to the side. Buffy and Tara run inside and find Dawn on the floor, with the cat on top of her. Buffy goes to her side and pulls the cat off her.

"Dawn, are you alright?" asks Buffy. Dawn looks at Buffy and then at the cat, who is standing next to the doorway of the bathroom. She turns her gaze to Buffy.

"I'm okay," she replies with a nod.

"What happened?" asks Tara.

"The mirror," says Dawn as she gets up, still holding the towel wrapped around her. "I saw a place and this castle with these men talking about something."

"That happened to me, too. I saw it through the mirror like if it were a window to the world we come from. That's where William came from. Nothing came out of it, right?"

"No. I must have freaked and fallen and hit the mirror, and then it fell and shattered."

"It's okay, Dawny," says Buffy holding Dawn close. "What's important is that you're okay."

"Lets get out of here," says Tara leading the way out of the bathroom. "Sorry about the door."

"Don't worry about it," says Buffy. "Xander will fix it." Buffy turns to Dawn. "Were you taking a bath with the cat inside?"

"Um, no I don't know how he got in there," replies Dawn. "Must have snuck in when I was going in." Tara and Buffy head downstairs and Dawn quickly enters her room. She turns around and sees the cat walk around her bed. He transforms into his human form. "What are you still doing here? Leave. I know what you are. You're evil."

"Why didn't you tell them who I was?" asks the cat. Dawn bows her head and sits on her bed.

"Those men in the mirror, who are they?"

"They are the ones that want your powers."

"They could see me like I could see them?"

"Yeah. If I hadn't pushed you aside, they would have known where you were and taken you."

"Isn't that what you want?"

"Yes and no. I've been sent here to search for you. For years I had hope that I would never find you because I know what they would do to you. I saw so many innocent girls die at the hands of my master. Like you said I'm evil, but I don't want to be."

"Mind if I change?" The cat, in human form, walks over to the other side of the bed and faces the window. Dawn grabs some clothes from her bag and quickly puts them on. "What's your name?"

"Connor."

"Your collar. A c. Why didn't I think of that?" Dawn tosses the towel on the bed post. "You can turn around." Connor turns and sees Dawn brushing her hair.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I just needed to talk to you alone."  
"Well, you picked a perfect place. Sorry about the soap and sponge." Dawn puts her brush down and sits on the bed.

"It's okay."

"I thought you were going to drown me or something. Those horror flicks are not good for the brain. Always make you think the worst."  
"What's a horror flick?"

"You really aren't from this world."

Wesley opens the door and sees Willow, with her sweet smile and then he sees a man with her. His smile fades away.

"Hi," says Willow. "Um, can we come in? I need a favor from you." Wesley nods and lets the two enter his house.

"What is it that you want to ask me?" asks Wesley.

"Um, well you know those historical books you have on mystics and the sorts, I was hoping if I could borrow a couple of them."

"Why? What for? I don't mean to ask so many questions, well I do. Who is this?" Wesley points at Xander.

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Xander, a friend of Buffy's." Xander looks at Willow. "We just want to look at some of your books. We had this bet that…"

"Willow, are you not telling me something?" asks Wesley as he pulls her closer to him. Xander starts to look through the books. "You know you can tell me anything."

"Um, I…" Willow looks at Xander and then pulls Wesley to another room. "Yes, I do have something to tell you. I knew that if I asked you for these books, I wasn't going to get off easily."

"What?"

"Wesley, what I need to tell you to understand the reason why I'm looking at the books that I'm going to borrow from you is…" Willow takes a deep breath. "I'm…a… witch."

"A what?"

"I know that this is hard to understand, but it's true."

"Willow," calls Xander from the other room. He walks up to them. Willow turns to Xander. She sees him look up and she looks up, too. Willow sees something moving on the ceiling.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The girls are separated. Can they each handle their problems on their own?

"Move out of the way!" Xander yells as he conjures a ball of light in his hand. Wesley pulls Willow away from the creature on the ceiling. Xander throws the ball, but misses him. The creature continues to crawl on the ceiling, running away from Xander. "Stay in the room. Don't open the door no matter what." Willow closes the door to the room and turns to Wesley.

"Wesley, I know this is hard for you to take in, but…" says Willow.

"Are they after you?" asks Wesley. Willow freezes at Wesley's question.

"Yes, how would…"

"I knew from the moment I met you that you were special. I don't just show anyone my collection of freaky books. I knew you would understand."

"You knew I was a witch?"

"Part of me wished that you weren't, but all the signs pointed to it."

"You're not a warlock, are you?" Willow starts to back away.

"No, human completely."

"How did you know and how do you know all about this freaky stuff?"

"Runs in the family. My father married a witch and she happened to have had a grudge with some really bad ass warlock and he killed my father."

"That's terrible."

"I was young, about five. I was there when it happened, but he didn't find me."

"Where was your step-mother?"

"She was out, but she didn't abandon me. She took me away with her. She was hiding from the warlock for many years and during those years is where I learned about her world and magic."

"Wow."

"Yes, since then I've been collecting books about the subject."

"Where is your step mother now?"

"Oh, she's still in hiding. She stayed in the mortal realm for about a year when I was already eighteen, so that I can start my life. She gave me the deed to the house and I started my life. Then she left again."

Suddenly they hear a scream; Willow quickly turns her head around and runs over to the door.

"Xander!" Willow calls as she unlocks the door.

"No," says Wesley. "He told us not to go out there."

"He's in trouble. We have to do something." Wesley starts to look around and pulls out a sword from a knight.

"Okay, let's go." Wesley opens the door and exits first. Willow follows him and they follow Xander's screams. They enter the room where Xander is on the floor and the creature is on top of him. Wesley moves swiftly and without the creature noticing, stabs the creature in the back with the sword. The creature starts to bleed and stops moving. Xander moves away from the creature, clutching his arm where the creature bit him. "I got him."

"No, you didn't," says Xander. The creature stands up and pulls the sword out of its body. The wound heals quickly and the creature growls at Wesley and Willow. "It's a vampire." The creature comes running towards them. Willow then conjures up a fire wall, which the creature crashes into and burns into ashes.

"Wow," says Wesley. "That was hot." Willow laughs at his comment. The two quickly go over to Xander and carry him over to the sofa. "There was just one, right?"

"Yeah," replies Xander. "I think."

"Oh my gosh, Xander," says Willow when she sees two holes on Xander's neck. "You've been bitten."

"Bet I tasted real bad," says Xander with a grin. "Vampires hate wizards' blood, but they like tearing us to shreds."

"You were lucky," says Wesley. "Did you just say you're a wizard?" Xander nods his head. "I've never seen one in real life before."

"Disappointed?"

"No, just thought you would have a pointy hat."

"Nah, we gave those up a long time ago."

"Oh."

"We better get out of here. It's getting late."

"Yes, the books that you need are right here."

"So, how does he know…?"

"His father got killed by a warlock because his step-mother was a witch and she took him into hiding. Then she brought him back to the mortal realm and left him to live his own life free from magic and the sorts, but he learned so much about it already that he continued his search for books and anything to do with magic and witches."

"Whoa, do you ever breathe?" Willow smiles as Wesley comes over to the two, with the books they needed. Xander looks over to a window and sees the sun going down. "We're not going to make it before dark."

"Doesn't my power come from the sun?" asks Willow. "Can't I do something?"

"You can't control the sun, can she?" Xander sits up and looks at Wesley.

"I thought you were supposed to be a wizard and know stuff?" says Wesley.

"I don't know everything."

"What can we do?" asks Willow.

"Okay, I think you could do a spell to hold the sun in place," says Wesley.

"Really?"

"Yes." Wesley looks through one of the spell books he has. "This one with this spell should do it."

"Does it freeze the sun?" asks Xander.

"No, it just stops it from going down. It will mess up the daylight savings thing, but it will give us enough time to head out and not be in the dark." Willow recites the spell and suddenly they see the sun stop just as it starts to go down. "Okay, let's go."

The three rush outside and run over to Buffy's. Once they are at the door, the sun drops and Willow opens the door with her key. They get inside and close the door quickly. Buffy comes out of the kitchen, Tara from the living room, and Dawn comes from upstairs with the cat.

"Are you guys okay?" asks Tara. The three look at her.

"Yeah, we're okay," says Xander. "No problem."

"No problem," says Buffy walking over Xander. "There's blood on your shirt. You just love getting into trouble, don't you? Dawn, first aid kit." She moves Xander over to the sofa.

"Oh, guys, this is Wesley," says Willow introducing him to them. "He's going to be a lot of help to us. We got the books we needed, too."

"That's great," says Buffy. "Why did it take so long and what did this to Xander?"

"How do you know it's a what?" asks Xander as Buffy is cleaning his wound on his arm and neck.

"I don't know, lucky guess."

"It was a vampire," says Willow.

"A vampire!" says Buffy jumping up. "Does that mean that he's going to…?"

"No, besides I didn't drink his blood," says Xander.

"I did a spell where I held the sun in place for like three and a half minutes," says Willow.

"I was wondering why the sun wasn't moving," says Tara.

"So, anything happen here?" asks Xander.

"Just a little scare," says Buffy as she bandages Xander's wounds. "Dawn saw some other world through the bathroom mirror. I guess you forgot to tell us about that."

"Oh, are you okay?" asks Xander to Dawn.

"Yeah, it was just weird," says Dawn.

"Anything else?" asks Xander. "More cats." Buffy hits Xander on his wound and then gathers the first aid kit. "Good, because I cannot deal with anything else."

Suddenly the lights turn off in the whole house. Xander forms a ball of light and lights the place up. Then they all look at the door and see the handle move.

"Willow, you locked it, right?" asks Buffy.

"I think." Willow replies.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The door opens slowly and everyone is holding their breaths. Xander gets ready to fire up an energy ball at whatever is entering the house. He throws it, but by some miracle the ball bounces back. Xander catches it back in his hand and it disintegrates.

"What is wrong with you people?" says the girl, who deflected the energy ball. "Leaving the door unlocked. Now that's going to protect you from the bad guys." Then she snaps her fingers and all the lights turn back on. "What's with the lights? We don't live in the dark ages anymore."

"Who the hell are you?" asks Buffy.

"I'm here to help," says the woman, with long black hair. Xander walks over to her and recognizes her.

"Cordelia," says Xander. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to save your ass. They've been spotted like a million times since you made contact with them. What part of keep the magic to the down low don't you understand?"

"I'm sorry, but…"

"No excuses." Cordelia turns to the girls. "Which of you is Dawn?"

"I am," replies Dawn still holding the cat in her hands. "Who are you? Why do you look so familiar?"

"Because I'm your mother."

"What?" says Buffy in disbelief. "You are way too young to be her mother."

"Thanks for the complement," says Cordelia. "Those creams do work miracles."

"Xander." Buffy turns to him.

"She is who she says she is," says Xander. "Buffy, she's way over a hundred. She looks pretty good for her age."

"What's that you've got there?" asks Cordelia to Dawn.

"Oh, this is Connor," says Dawn.

"Connor?" says Buffy.

"Yeah, that's what I've named him. He's our familiar."

"He's no familiar," says Cordelia. "Put him down."

"What are you going to do with him?"

"He's just a regular cat," says Buffy. "It's not ours. Leave him alone."

"He smells kind of familiar," says Cordy.

"Like a cat."

"Ha ha."

"Hey, Cordy," says William. Cordelia hears a familiar voice, but doesn't see the person she is looking for. "I'm down here."

"Prince William," says Cordy when she sees the frog on the table. "What happened to you? Well, I know what happened, but why?"

"You know how it is," says William. "Women love me and I said no to a witch."

"So, she turned you into a frog. How sad."

"Thanks."

"You're a prince?" asks Tara.

"I forgot to mention that," says William.

"Are you guys talking to that frog?" asks Wesley.

"Yeah, mystical being and all," says Willow.

"My step mother used to do that a lot. It was very strange. Especially when we were in the mortal realm and she started a really good conversation with one of them in the middle of the street."

"That must have been embarrassing."

"Yes, it was."

"Who's your stepmother?" asks Cordy.

"Her name is Anyanka," replies Wesley. "She usually goes by the name of Anya."

"Oh, Anya."

"You know her?"

"Yes, we were friends once, until she made a deal with the devil."

"Really?"

"I'm serious here. She really made a deal with the devil."

"Oh."

"She's not the wisest witch. Especially marrying a mortal. No offense to your father."

"None taken. She was kind and took care of me when they killed my father."

"Yeah, she had a soft spot. Anyways, she used to be a girlfriend of a very power warlock or if you choose to call him the devil. After that she tried to get away and fled to the mortal realm thinking that he would never find her there."

"But he did."

"The warlock that killed your father is the same warlock that is after the girls. He wants their powers. He'll stop at nothing to get them. We need to be on the alert."

"That will be great," says William. "But how about helping me?"

"William, you know that only the witch who put the spell on you can turn you back or someone more powerful than she," says Cordy.

"Aren't these witches more powerful?" asks William.

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing. Get to the books and find the spell, okay?"

"Gee, who woke up on the wrong side of the lily pad?" William rolls his froggy eyes.

"I may not be able to give orders because of my froggy state, but there will be a reward for my returning stature of regular beings."

"How much?" asks Dawn. Everyone looks at Dawn. "What? He said he has a reward. Is it money?"

"Of course."

"What did he say?" asks Buffy. Wesley shrugs and then looks at Dawn.

"Alright," says Xander trying to take charge. "Look, we need to do other things first."

"I can help you," says William. "If you turn me back we can all go back to my castle. I've got some pretty good wizards that can get you off the radar of the warlock that is after you."

"I think that sounds like a good plan," says Tara. Xander scratches his head.

"I guess it is the best we're going to get," says Xander.

"Well, if we're going to my realm, which I believe is like entering the lion den," says Cordy. "Then we need to stop at my castle for a few essentials."

"Wouldn't the warlock locate us quicker if we do that?" asks Willow.

"Not exactly. You see he is still in search for you in this realm, so he probably won't find us."

"We need to do it quickly, okay?" says Xander as he grabs Buffy's hand. Buffy looks down and then she looks at Xander. "Let's do the spell. Cordelia, will you do the honors?"

"Sure." Cordy grabs Dawn's hand. Wesley grabs hold of Willow's hand. Tara picks up William the frog and puts him in her purse. She then takes Xander's hand. "Everyone ready? Okay. _In this night and in this hour, I call upon the ancient power. Guiding light of time and space, bring us forth into this place. Open the door to realms unknown; bring us to a place called home."_

A portal appears and it swallows them up whole. In less than one second, they appear in the front of a castle made of old grey bricks and a drawbridge opens before them. Everyone looks around and sees that their surroundings are nothing like Sunnydale. Green seems to be the dominant color of the scheme and they see vast amounts of animals that they have never seen before.

"Welcome home, girls," says Cordy leading them towards the drawbridge. _  
_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The castle is immense, fit for giants or even over ground dragons. They follow Cordy down a corridor and find themselves in a throne room. What's a castle without a throne room?

"Cordelia," calls a man surrounded by many people by the throne. "Thank goodness you're alright." Cordy gives the handsome dark haired man a smile and kisses him passionately on the lips.

"I guess they know each other," says Dawn to the others.

"Are these the ones?" asks the man as he looks at the girls behind Cordy. Cordy nods and walks over to Dawn.

"This is Dawn," says Cordy putting her hand over her shoulder. The dark haired man stares at the young witch and walks up to her. "Everyone, this is King Angelus. He's my husband and he's Dawn's father."

"Whoa," says Dawn. "Two parents in one day. That's just strange." Buffy walks up behind Dawn and so does Willow.

"I guess Aunt Darla was right," says Buffy. "You are a princess." Dawn smiles.

"Try to refrain from using magic here," says Cordy. "Once we are at William's castle, then we will be protected from the warlock's radar."

"William?" says Angel. "Where is he? He actually is helping?"

"Well, he is sort of in a predicament at the moment."

"A predicament? What, a witch turned him into a toad?" Tara holds her bag close to her and she could feel William wiggling inside. Angel looks at all of them. "Oh my gosh. He's a toad. I've gotta see that."

"Angel, he's your brother. Don't be like that."

"You're William's brother?" asks Tara.

"Yeah, to my misfortune," replies Angel.

"The way you talk about him is like if he were a pain in the ass," says Buffy.

"That's an understatement."

"I'm not," says William from Tara's bag. "You ponce." William jumps out of Tara's purse and begins to insult Angel, with his British slang. Angel gets a smile on his face and starts to crack up.

"So, I have a toad for an uncle?" says Dawn as she looks at William. "What next?"

"Come on, Dawn," says Buffy. "At least you're not betrothed. She is not, is she?" Angel and Cordy avoid Buffy's and Dawn's eyes.

"Oh my gosh, to whom? A dragon."

"No, he's a dragon slayer," says Angel.

"That's good, right?" says Buffy looking at Dawn. "Not good."

"Sweetheart, it was for your own good. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"Can't you guys live in the now?" says Dawn. "It's the 21st century. Women get to vote, kick ass, and choose their own boyfriend."

"Look, not to judge you guys and all about your parenthood or anything, since you just started now, but I think that Dawn has a right to choose who she will be spending the rest of her life with," says Buffy. "I think that you should trust her with that."

"Are you her adopted mother?" asks Cordy.

"No, I'm her adopted cousin. A lot of people seem to make that mistake. Not that I don't mind."

"I guess we can hold off everything, until you're safe and the warlock is not after you anymore," says Angel.

"Okay," says Dawn. "Dad." Angel smiles at that.

"I'll be back and then we can leave to William's," says Cordy as she exits the throne room.

"So, Angel, do you know anything about us?" asks Willow. "About our parents?"

"We haven't been in contact with each other for many years," replies Angel. "Your mothers were Cordelia's friends. They were inseparable. Cordelia was the last one to have a child and when they found out that you three would become very powerful witches in the future, we sent you away for no evil to find you and use your powers." Cordelia enters the throne room with her head down. Angel turns around and holds her close.

"Tara and Willow, your mothers were so great," says Cordy as tears form in her eyes and her voice cracked a little. "We made those necklaces that you wear to symbolize your powers and protect you from evil, but when we were enchanting them the warlock came for us. Tara, your mother was the strongest of us, Joyce, and she fought the dark man. We couldn't see his face because it was covered by a mask and he never said his name."

"My mother's name is Joyce," says Tara as her voice cracks and some tears come running down her cheek.

"I took the necklaces and Joyce told us to run and follow the plan we had, which was to send you three away. So we did. Me and Fred quickly took the girls, put the necklaces on and left you in a different realm. We had no idea that you three would ever meet."

"My mom's name is Fred?" asks Willow.

"We call her Fred, but her full name is Winifred. As for Joyce, that was the last time we saw of her. Fred and I parted that night as well."

"What about their father?" asks Buffy.

"Joyce had married a wizard named Giles and I haven't seen him in ages. As for Fred, she never told us who the father of her child was."

"Well, enough chatting," says William. "Time to do a spell to get me back to normal, okay? Tara, would you please pick me up?" Tara goes down and puts William back in her purse.

"Wow," says Angel. "William's being nice."

"Angel," says Cordy. "See you later." Cordy kisses Angel and they were off to William's castle in the blink of an eye.

His castle is as big as Cordy's and they are welcomed by a man in a grey robe, who rushes them inside. The drawbridge closes and then the man raises his hands up and a force field surrounds the castle.

"Alright, enough with the stalling," says William as he jumps out of Tara's bag. "Let's get to the turning me back to my beautiful self."

"Gee, isn't he conceded?" says Dawn and still in her hands, Connor, the cat.

"What did he say?" asks Buffy to Dawn. "Sounds like he's impatient."  
"Yep," replies Dawn. "That is so true."

The man in the grey robe with hand gestures tells them to follow him. They all oblige and follow the man through the long corridors.

"Hey, can I get my own castle for Christmas?" says Dawn to Cordy. She smiles.

"We'll think about," says Cordy. "That's my girl. That's the first thing I asked my parents when I was your age." Dawn laughs at that. Willow and Wesley put the books that they had in their hands down on a table.

The man in the grey hood looks at Tara and then at her necklace, with the three stars. Xander notices this immediately and walks over to the man.

"So, do you have name?" says Xander. "I'm Alexander."

"Don't waste your time," says William. "He doesn't talk much."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. Long one here. Just for all of you.

"Okay, maybe this will do the trick," says Wesley as he is searching for a spell to return William back into his regular self. Willow looks at him and is impressed with his abilities at looking for spells. "Girls, hold hands and repeat this three times. _Hocus pocus alakazam; turn this frog into a man." _

"What?" says William. "What kind of spell is that?"

"It is kind of dorky," says Dawn. "I mean, he's a frog. There should be a better spell to say than that."

"Yes, anything but that."

"William, if it works there is no harm done," says Tara. "So, quit complaining." William rolls his little froggy eyes.

"Alright," says William.

"Couldn't you just say something like _With this spell I will it be, turn this frog back to his being," _says Buffy as she points at William and by some mystical way he changes into a man. Everyone is in shock.

"Buffy, how did you do that?" asks Xander walking over to her.

"I don't know."

"Buffy, you're a witch," says Dawn.

"No, I'm not. I couldn't even hear him talk."

"Well, not all witches can," says Xander. "They sometimes have to believe in themselves and everything around them."

"I'm not a witch." Buffy turns to Xander. "Tell them I'm not a witch."

"Don't get so panicky."

"I love you," says William quickly hugging Buffy. "You are my best friend now."

"Okay," replies Buffy. He lets her go and goes over to a mirror to look at himself.

"Well, now that's done we can move on to other important things," says Xander. "Like keeping these girls safe."

"Right," says William fixing himself. "I'll have my servants show you to your rooms. I promise you all will be safe here, especially you Buffy, who I owe my life to."

"You really don't need to say that," says Buffy blushing a bit. Xander gets a little jealous seeing William trying to flirt with Buffy.

They were all in their rooms. Each room connects to one another. Cordy and Dawn get a room of their own and so do the guys, Wesley and Xander. Tara and Willow sleep in another room that has two beds and last, Buffy gets a grand bedroom all to herself. The bed is fit for a giant or two and the room is spacious.

"I really don't need a big room like this," says Buffy.

"I insist," replies William as he kisses her hand.

The next morning, they awaken to a scream. It is Dawn and everyone ran over to her room. Cordy holds her daughter close to her as she breaths heavily.

"It's okay, Dawny," says Cordy.

"What happened?" asks Buffy coming through the crowd of people in the room.

"It was just a bad dream," says Cordy soothing her. Connor, the cat jumps on the bed and rubs himself against her arm. She grabs him and holds him close to her.

"The dreams are happening," says the mysterious man in the hood, who had greeted them at the entrance the day before. "The youngest will get the visions like her mother." Cordy looks at the man.

"You get visions?" asks Dawn to Cordy.

"Yes, but how do you know?" asks Cordy as she gets up from the bed. "No one knows, but my husband."

"I must have told him once, I guess," says William.

"Maybe we should stay in one room," says Buffy. "I don't feel safe here at all."

"How could you not? The castle is enchanted, protected from intruders of all sorts."

"I like Buffy's idea," says Dawn as she holds Connor close to her. Everyone agreed and got some blankets and pillows to move into the room. William rolls his eyes and is about to leave, when Tara pulls his hand. He turns to her and looks at her blue eyes.

"Aren't you going to stay with us?" asks Tara. William grabs her hand.

"Of course," he replies.

While everyone gathered their things, Dawn heads into the bathroom with the cat. She puts the cat down and in an instant, it turns into Connor.

"Are you okay?" Connor whispers. Dawn nods her head and then hugs Connor. He hesitates at first, but then holds her close and soothes her. "You're going to be okay."

"Dawn?" calls Buffy from the other side of the door.

"I'm coming," replies Dawn as she pulls away from Connor. He then turns into a cat again and Dawn picks him up. "I'm fine." Dawn walks out of the bathroom. Buffy looks at her strangely and then she sees something strange about the cat. She ignores it and heads over to the bed.

All the girls got on the king size bed and the guys lay on each side of the bed. Even the mysterious wizard did the same. They were soon asleep again and Dawn slept, without any bad dreams.

Meanwhile in a dark castle far away, a dark man in a black coat hovers over a gigantic crystal that allows him to oversee the world he lives in. He searches through all the cities, but he has yet to find what he is looking for.

"Where are they?" asks the dark man. "You said they have come to this world."

"They have master, but they cannot be found," replies his minion.

"Why the hell not?"

"They must be protected by very powerful magic. I have no control over that."

"Yes, you do. Find the wizard who is protecting them and kill him."

"Yes, master."

"And, Warren?"

"Yes, master?"

"Bring me the mother. I want to torture her. Perhaps the child with the visions can see this."

"Right away, sir."

Warren heads to the dungeon and opens a cell, where a blonde woman is sitting. She had been kept there for days. When she opens her eyes, two guards grab her and pull her out of the cell.

"No! No! Let me go. Please!" she yells as she struggles to get loose. They take her to their master.

"You're one of the girls mother, aren't you?" asks the master.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play coy. I know you know where she is."

"You've got the wrong person. I don't have a daughter."

"Yes, you do. We've been watching for years. You adopted a very special girl. What's her name again?"

"No. No!"

"Yes. Tell me where she is?"

"What do you want with her?"

"Just to talk. That's all. We have history."

"Master, she won't tell you her name. If we can get her name…" Warren says.

"Silence!" yells the master. "Tell me her name, Darla." Darla's eyes widen as the dark man revealed his true self. She screams. The master grabs her by the throat and she stops screaming. "Tell me!" She trembles as he lets her go, so she can speak.

"Her name is…"

"Yes, tell me."

Back at William's castle everyone is still sleeping in the same room. The cat climbs out of Dawn's hands and heads for the window. He sees an army of shape shifters heading to the castle. Connor, with his claws pulls Dawn's hair to wake her.

"What?" says Dawn a little dazed. She sees that it is Connor who is tugging at her hair. He jumps back on the window. Dawn hurries over to the window and sees what he sees. "You guys." Dawn starts to shake the bed to wake the girls.

"What is it?" asks Buffy.

"Look." Buffy sticks her head out the window and sees the army.

"Oh my…"

"What? What is it?" asks Willow.

"It's an army and it's heading this way." Buffy grabs a pillow and throws it at Xander. He wakes with a start.

"What?" says Xander.

"We're not safe here," says Buffy as she gets off the bed.

"What are you talking about?"

"There is an army outside heading this way," says Tara who is already up and out of the bed. She goes over to William and stirs him.

"Five more minutes, mom," says William. Dawn throws her a pillow and Tara hits William with it to wake him. "What? What you do that for?" The others woke up as well and start to look out the window. "Alright, so they know where you are No big deal. They can't get through. We're well protected. Right?" William looks at the mysterious wizard.

"Get them to my room," says the wizard.

"What are we supposed to do there?" asks Buffy.

"You're witches, figure something out." He heads out of the room.

"I don't like that tone he took with me."

"Who cares," says Xander. "Just listen to him. I'm going to help him." The girls and Wesley are led by William to the wizard's room. William locks the door behind him.

"What the bloody hell are we going to do now?" asks William.

"Pray," Willow suggests.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

The mysterious wizard heads over to the window to see the army coming. Xander comes over to him. The wizard takes his hood off and begins to do an incantation of some sort. He then notices Xander and turns to him.

"How can I help?" asks Xander.

"Alright," says the wizard.

"Do you have a name?"

"Giles."

"Okay, Giles. Let's do this. Wait a minute, the Giles."

"We'll talk about that later. Now follow my lead."

In the wizard's room, everyone is looking around to try and figure out something to do. A spell, an incantation. Anything that can protect them.

"Oh, I remember this movie when they used salt to keep evil beings away," says Dawn.

"Let's find salt," says Buffy. Everyone begins to look around the room. "Dawn, get away from the window." The cat jumps out of Dawn's arms and onto the ledge of the window.

"Connor, no," says Dawn to the cat. The cat doesn't listen and jumps out of the window.

"Dawn," says Buffy pulling her away from the window. Dawn covers her face with her hands. Cordy comes over and holds Dawn close. Buffy goes over to the window slowly and looks down. She doesn't spot a dead cat on the floor, but she does see a young man running towards the army.

"Is he okay?" asks Dawn. "Tell me he's okay."

"Dawn, I don't see him," says Buffy. "I'm sure he's okay."

"I think I found some salt," says Wesley. Dawn wipes her tears away and walks over to Wesley.

"We need to make a circle with the salt and once we are inside the circle, no evil being can touch us," says Dawn.

Back at the entrance, Xander and Giles have a plan ready to take on the shape shifters. As soon as they are about to head outside, they see the shape shifters suddenly change positions and turn to their left. The two wizards look at each other and then watch them as they all head away from the castle.

"That was strange," says Xander.

"Where the bloody hell are they going?" asks Giles.

"Haven't got a clue."

In the crowd of the shape shifters, Connor watches them from afar and begins to wonder if the shape shifters are targeting the girls because they know they are in this realm or him. He continues to move along and notices that one of his theories is right. The shape shifters are following him. He looks at his collar on his neck and turns the c around. There is a small chip on it.

Suddenly, the shape shifters begin to get closer to him. He quickly starts to run and pulls the collar off. Connor sees a lake nearby and throws the collar there. He takes a quick break and runs back to the castle, without being seen by the shape shifters.

Back at the castle, Giles and Xander head over to the room where the girls are. They had just finished the circle of salt.

"Don't worry," says Xander. "False alarm." The girls are relieved.

"Are they gone?" asks Dawn walking over to the two wizards.

"Yes," replies Giles. He then looks at Tara, who has the salt in her hands. She then puts it on a table.

"What happened?" asks Buffy.  
"They just went away," says Xander as he walks over to her.

"I need to find my cat," says Dawn. "He jumped out the window."

"He jumped out the window?" says Xander. "Dawn, it's pretty high. I don't think he could…" Xander heads over to the window and sees the cat walking about and looking up at him. "He's alive." Dawn sticks her head out the window and is glad to see him.

Xander and Dawn head outside and Dawn picks Connor up. She holds him close to her and he purrs.

"Guess he's happy to see you," says Xander. "Come on, let's get back inside." The two walk back inside and meet up with the girls. "You got one lucky cat."

"I can't believe he's alright," says Buffy. "I mean, I didn't see him anywhere when he jumped. I just saw a young man running. I wonder who that was." Buffy turns to Spike.

"A young man," says Spike.

"Yeah, about a little taller than Dawn, brown hair."

"I don't recognize the description. Must be from the village, I guess."

"How did he get through the force field?" asks Giles.

"You got me there."

"Okay, how about trying to keep this warlock from killing my daughter and you two," says Cordy.

"Research mode," says Xander. Everyone began to look up stuff to find out more about their foe. The dark warlock has been in this realm for hundreds of years and it is now that he is in search for the great powers that are bestowed upon these three witches.

Dawn goes behind a large bookshelf and puts Connor down on the floor. She just realizes that he doesn't have his collar. Connor changes into his human state.

"Where is your collar?" asks Dawn.

"Threw it out," replies Connor. "It was a homing device."

"That's why the shape shifters were headed this way."

"I didn't know. I swear."

"I believe you. I was scared for you when you jumped out the window."

"I'm sorry." Connor takes her hand. Dawn looks down and her eyes widen.

"I think Buffy saw you." Dawn pulls her hand away. "At least not turning into a human from cat because that would have been weird."

"I needed to find out why they were here. They lost track of me. I tossed the collar into a lake."

"Aren't they going to wonder where you are?"

"Yeah, but not if I'm a cat or any other animal."

"What was up with the purring?" Connor smiles and then blushes.

"Dawn!" calls Buffy from afar. Dawn turns around and Connor turns back into his cat form. "Who are you talking to?"

"Um, nobody," replies Dawn. Connor the cat comes out from behind Dawn.

"Didn't he have a collar?"

"Must have lost it. Besides, cats shouldn't wear collars. Their poor little necks." Dawn picks up Connor and rubs his head. She then walks away.

"There is nothing in these books," says Willow getting impatient. "It says the same thing over and over again. He's old, powerful, and never been able to defeat. Can we just seek a dragon on him or something?"

"He has a dragon for a pet," says William.

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"What do we have?" asks Buffy. "I mean, we've got four powerful witches and two wizards. I'm sure if we put our heads together we can get something."

"Buffy's right," says Xander. "He's just a warlock. Warlocks have weaknesses. We gotta find that."

"To find that, you would have to have fought him," says William. "And the only one who has is Cordelia." They all look at Cordy.

"If I had known his weakness, don't you think I would have told you by now?" says Cordy. "Besides, I wasn't the one who fought him. If Joyce were alive, she would have known his weakness."

"But she's not," says Tara as she walks over to Cordy. "You're the only one we have. If you try to remember." Cordy looks at Tara and smiles at her.

"You have so much of her."

"Who?"

"Your mother. She was always positive." Xander looks at Giles and gives him a signal. Giles avoids him and then walks over to the Tara and Cordy.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," says Giles. Everyone looks at him.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Giles bows his head and then looks back up at Tara. She is getting a little suspicious of why he is looking at her like that. He takes a deep breath.

"I've fought him before."

"You have?" asks William walking over to him. "How come you didn't say that earlier?"

"Because…"

"Are you Giles, the great wizard Giles?" asks Cordy. Tara looks at Cordy and remembers that she had said that her father was a wizard named Giles.

"Wait a minute…" says William, but is interrupted by Tara.

"Are you my father?" asks Tara in her timid voice.

"Yes," Giles replies.

"Why didn't you say so?"

"Because the warlock wasn't really after your mother's power. He was after mine. He knew if my powers were combined to that of a powerful witch that our child would be a very powerful witch."

"So, Tara's like our leader?" asks Dawn walking over to Tara.

"I'm no leader," says Tara turning away from everyone.

"You have the powers of the stars. The stars are always shining in the day and in the night."

"He's right, you know," says Xander. "You are the strongest of three and you happen to know more about magic than you let yourself believe."

"What are you talking about?"

"You work in a magic shop. It's kind of a dead give away." Tara smiles.

"Well, cool," says Buffy. "Family reunion. Now, what's this all about you knowing this big bad?"

"Right," says Giles. "He may be powerful in strength and army, but he does have a weak spot."

"That's great. So, what is it?"

"A pretty face." Everyone looks at Buffy.

"Huh?"

"No way," says Xander pulling Buffy behind him. "It's not going to happen. Besides, she's a witch and I'm not about to feed her to the wolves." Buffy is grateful for Xander trying to protect her.

"Maybe we can find something else," says Dawn.

"He can't resist," says Giles. "He'll let his guard down and he will be easier to defeat."

"He did that with mom, didn't he?" asks Tara.

"Your mother wanted to do it to try to defeat him. He was completely powerless and one more strike and it would have finished him off, but your mother couldn't do it. Not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't want to be like him, killing someone when they are at their lowest. It was a mistake she has always regretted for the rest of her life."

"Then he came after her and after her child," says Cordy. "And mine and Fred's."

"She knew you two would help her and protect her. He decided to hit all of you where it hurts most."

"And he succeeded." Cordy bows her head.

"Mom," says Dawn. "Don't be sad. At least you're still here. That counts." Cordy looks at Dawn and smiles at her daughter.

"Thanks," replies Cordy.

"We need to bloody think of something," says William.

"Relax, William," says Tara. "We will think of something. We just need to think harder."

Dawn's cat gets out of her grasp and runs over to the middle of the room. She tries to go after it, but she is too late. Connor turns himself into his regular self revealing who he is. Everyone looks at Dawn.

"Don't kill him," says Dawn as she gets in front of him.

"What are you doing?" asks Connor.

"Protecting you."

"Dawn, get away from him. He's a shape shifter," says Cordy.

"I know, but he's good."

"I should have known," says Xander.

"It's not your fault," says Connor. "You can't identify me because I was a cat and you had other things on your mind. Protecting them."

"Why are you here?" asks Cordy.

"The truth is," Connor begins to explain. "I was sent to find you all, but I kind of didn't like the job."

"What do you mean?" asks Xander.

"I was supposed to warn my master that I did find them and lead them to you. I decided I didn't want to do that."

"Why?"

"Because I care." Dawn grabs Connor's hand and smiles at him.

"He was the young boy I saw running away from the castle," says Buffy walking over to him. "Why did you jump out the window? Where were you going?"

"He saved us," says Dawn.

"Dawn," says Connor.

"It's true."

"How?" asks Willow.

"Wait a minute, you were leading the shape shifter's here," says William. "That's how they knew you were here."

"It's not like that," says Connor. "I didn't…"

"You set us up," says Xander.

"No…"

"Then how in the bloody hell did they find the girls?" asks William.

"I had a homing device on my collar," Connor explains. "I didn't know it was there. They must have thought I was compromised or something and sent an army to follow me. The collar is indestructible. If you had found out who I was earlier on and killed me, it would not have been destroyed with the spell. Since they hadn't heard from me, I guess they decided to find out where I was or rather where my collar was."

"That means he knows you're here," says Cordy. "I don't think we're safe here. We should have stayed in the mortal realm."

"They were there, too," says Willow. "They found us and they even attacked us in broad daylight."

"Where else can we go?" asks Tara looking at Giles.

"The best plan is for you all to leave," says William. "Maybe the enchanted forest could protect you. I don't know."

"That sounds like a good idea, William," says Xander. "What do you think, Giles?"

"We'll leave at sundown," replies Giles.

"And you are going to a jail cell," says William. "Guards."

"No, please," says Dawn. "He can help. He wants to help, I know it."

"Dawn, he's evil," says Buffy.

"No, he's not. If he was, he would have attacked a long time ago."

"Perhaps he could be of help," says Wesley finally speaking. They all look at him. "He may be a shape shifter, but he can get into the warlock's lair without being compromised."

"Are you saying that we use him as a spy?" says William.

"I'll do it," says Connor.

"The plan might work," says Giles. "With him inside, we can figure out the warlock's plan of action."

"Well, we gotta make it believable, you know?" says William. "Make it look like he's escape unbearable torture."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Connor looks at William, who is willing and ready to beat his living guts. Dawn glares at William.

"Can he just roll in dirt or throw him down a hill," says Dawn.

"Thanks, Dawn," says Connor.

"I'm trying to help here. I don't want you to get beaten up."

"Dawny, it's just a little," says Buffy. "It won't hurt…much."

"Dawn, I'm going to fine," says Connor.

"Come on," says William.

"William, don't kill him," says Tara.

"I would never dream of that," says William.

"William," says Cordy in a monotone voice.

"I won't kill him. Promise." William leads Connor outside.

Meanwhile outside, the two face each other. William takes off his jacket and tosses it to the ground. Connor looks at him as William starts to stretch out.

"What are you doing?" asks Connor.

"I haven't used my fists in a long time," says William. "Gotta get used to them. You know, I was a frog before."

"Yeah, I know. Take your time."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Be able to change into different animals and not feel a little weird about it."

"It's just the way we are, I guess. Shape shifters. It's in our genes."

"Oh, I see. Alright, let's get this over with."

"Why are you so mad at me? I didn't lead them into danger. At least, not on purpose."

"Like I'm going to believe a shape shifter. You're not dead because we can use you for some good and Dawn over there has a thing for you and can turn me into a frog as well as her mother."

"You're scared of them."

"They are more powerful than you think."

"I know they're powerful. Especially the one that has a thing for you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on. Don't tell me you don't see it?" Connor rolls his eyes at him.

"What?"

"Tara."

"Tara? No way." He turns away from Connor for a second. "Really?"

"Yeah." William smiles at that. "Well, are we going to beat me up or do I have to do it myself?"

"I'm coming." William is about to hit Connor, when a voice stops him.

"Wait," says Dawn who is at the entrance of the castle. William turns to her and she begins to walk over to where they are.

"Dawn, you're not supposed to be out here," says William.

"Let me do it." William looks at her strangely.

"Dawn, no," says Connor.

"I want to."

"Your mother will have my head for this," says William.

"We don't have to do this."

"Dawn."

"Just let him and trust him, okay?"

"It's not that it's…"

"Please." Dawn begs William not to hurt him by giving him her sad puppy eye look.

"Oh dear."

"She's got you," says Connor.

"You bet."

"You're not going to do it?" says Dawn.

"I won't do it," says William as he picks up his jacket.

"What a sissy." says Connor. Dawn's eyes widen at Connor's words.

"What did you say?" says William as he turns around.

"You heard me. No wonder you were turned into a frog. Girl's got you whipped."

"Connor," says Dawn in shock at what he is saying.

"That's it, you are getting a beat down," says William handing his jacket to Dawn.

"No!" says Dawn. She pushes the jacket to him and walks over to Connor. "I tried to help you."

"Dawn…" Suddenly Dawn punches Connor in the gut. Connor is out of air and falls back. William is impressed that she did it.

"Well done, princess," says William.

"Is that enough?" asks Dawn. Connor gets up and tries to catch his breath.

"I can take another," says Connor.

"Had an old girlfriend who used to hit me in the nose and make me bleed all the time," says William. "Try that."

"No, I couldn't do that," says Dawn.

"Good, because I kind of like my nose…" Dawn unexpectedly hits Connor in the nose, causing him to fall back again and make his nose bleed as well.

"Wow," says William. "You are Angel's daughter." Dawn smiles at that and helps Connor up as he is holding his nose.

"Nice hit," says Connor.

"Thanks," says Dawn. "Next time, listen to me." Connor nods his head.

"Alright, get going," says William.

As Connor is about to go, Giles comes down and calls him back. Dawn and William look at Giles, who brings out Buffy and Xander.

"We can't very well let him go," says Giles. "It'd be impossible for a young shape shifter to be able to escape this place especially if I am here."

"What are you getting at?" asks William.

"I think that he should take a hostage."

"I don't like it," says Xander to Giles.

"She'll be fine," replies Giles. Buffy walks over to Dawn.

"Take care of yourself, Dawn," says Buffy as she hugs her tight.

"No," says Dawn holding Buffy tighter. "Buffy."

"Dawn, it's the only way," says Giles. "She'll be fine."

"I don't want you to go," cries Dawn. "Please don't. It's hard enough that Connor is going, but you…"

"Shhh," says Buffy as she puts her finger over Dawn's mouth. "You're going to rescue me. I have no doubt in that." Buffy looks at Xander, who feels that this is the wrong thing to do, but it's the only way to make Connor's story realistic. Dawn then takes her necklace off and hands it to Buffy. "Dawn…no."

"Yes," says Dawn giving Buffy her necklace. "Believe in yourself, Buffy and let my powers guide yours." Buffy looks at Dawn and gets tears in her eyes. She tries to hold them back, so that Dawn doesn't see her cry.

"I don't know what to say," says Buffy. She holds Dawn close to her and kisses the top of her head. Dawn walks away toward William. Xander walks over to Buffy. He is silent at first as he stares at her and then words come out.

"I don't like this," says Xander as he grabs Buffy's hand. Buffy grabs hold of his hand, too.

"Duh," says Buffy. "It's danger. I can deal. Besides, I know you'll come and help with the rescue." Buffy gives Xander a smile to make him feel better, but it doesn't. She is being thrown to wolves like Xander had mentioned earlier. He doesn't want her to go.

"I will." Xander kisses Buffy's forehead and then she looks up to his face and caresses his cheek. She reaches up and kisses him on the lips.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15. The Sun, Moon, and the Stars.

As Buffy releases Xander's lips, he looks at her surprised that she has kissed him. The first human/witch, who has kissed him in over a millennia. It is breathtaking. He takes a deep breath before he says anything.

"Be careful," says Xander as he touches her face and pushes her hair away. Buffy nods her head and leaves. Connor and Buffy start to walk away from the castle. The two are silent at first, but Buffy breaks the ice midway.

"So, you can turn into anything?" asks Buffy, a little curious about his abilities.

"Yeah, just about," replies Connor still walking onward.

"Oh my gosh."

"What?"

"You were in the bathroom with Dawn. You little pervert."

"It's not what you think. I swear, I didn't see anything."

"Yeah, right."

"I was only there trying to protect Dawn. They almost saw her."

"They?"

"They. The warlock. He has tap on mirrors. Got the trick from an ex-wife of his, a witch that could see through different dimensions through reflective things."

"Sounds like the wicked Queen from Snow White."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. I still don't trust you."

"Come on. I risked my life to throw out that collar."

"And ours. You led them right toward us."

"It wasn't my intention. I didn't know it had a homing device."

"How far is it?" Buffy decides to change the subject and not argue anymore.

"Not too far." Connor looks at the necklace that Dawn gave Buffy, her moon necklace. "He's going to think you're one of them." Buffy touches the necklace.

"Well, maybe that's a good thing. He doesn't want to kill us, right?"

"He just wants their power. That kind of kills you when your powers are taken, unless you use a spell to strip your powers."

"Gee, you've got spells for everything. Shouldn't there be a spell to get rid of him?"

"Someone's got to write it."

They arrive at the warlock's castle, a dark place with vines covering it from all the walls. Connor stops a couple of feet away from the castle and looks at Buffy.

"What's wrong?" asks Buffy. "Spidey senses?"

"No," says Connor, then he looks at her confused. "What?"

"Why did we stop?"

"Oh, we need to come up with a story and I kind of need to be rough with you."

"Oh." Connor makes a knife appear in his hand and a rope in his other.

"Mind if I tie you up?"

"Fine." Connor ties Buffy's hands together and they start to walk slowly towards the castle.

The drawbridge opens and a man comes out from the castle. He recognizes Connor and smiles. Connor starts to push Buffy harshly in front him and pulls out the knife from behind.

"We thought you were dead," says the man. "Found your collar next to Prince William's castle."

"Really?" says Connor.

"Who's the pretty girl?"

"My hostage. There were many, but I grabbed her."

"They coming after you?"

"Probably, but I haven't seen them yet."

"Who?"

"Well, the witches, of course. I've got one." Connor, with his knife, shows the man the necklace on Buffy's neck.

"Well, I'll be damned. Lindsey is going to be very pleased."

"Good."

"Why isn't she using her powers on you? I hear them witches are pretty strong."

"I cast a little spell. She can't talk. She can't chant. Besides, she draws her powers from the moon; her powers are weak during the daylight."

"I guess we better keep her in a power proof safe."

"Good call. Lead the way." Connor pushes Buffy and she tries to struggle and not say anything.

They walk down some stairs and pass many of the prisoners in cells. They are all magical beings in prison by the evil warlock. Buffy then sees her aunt Darla. Her eyes widen when she sees her curled up in a cell.

Connor pushes Buffy into a cell and the man pulls her over to the wall. Connor cuts the rope and they each grab one of her hands and lock her into the chains against the wall. Buffy looks at Connor with worried eyes, then she turns her head to Darla's cell. Connor looks at her cell, then leaves Buffy's cell. The man closes it.

"Who's she?" asks Connor about Darla.

"A mortal guardian from one of the witches," says the man. "The master thought he could get something out of her. The name of the witches and where they are, but she is a stubborn one."

"Why hasn't he killed her? Why hasn't he killed all of these beings?"

"He's waiting. Got a new mistress."

"Really? Is she pretty?"

"Yeah, real nice. Name's Drusilla. She's a jealous one, too. When the master was interrogating the mortal, she noticed the master seemed to fancy the being a bit. She's not bad to look at, especially when she is scared." The two look at Darla's cell.

"Right, she is. So, you've got the keys?"

"Yeah."

"Don't lose them."

"I'm no dope." The man turns around and Connor snags the keys and puts them in his pocket. Then another pair of keys just like them appears in his hand and he puts them in the man's pocket without him noticing. Connor turns around and winks at Buffy.

As the two leave, Darla stirs around in her cell. She is not chained up like Buffy, so she walks over to the end of her cell to get a better look at the girl the men had brought in. She whimpers and begins to cry a bit.

"Buffy," says Darla.

"Aunt Darla, it's me," says Buffy.

"Oh my God."

"Aunt Darla, don't cry. We'll get out of here. I promise."

"Dawn. Where is she?"

"She's safe. Don't worry."

"How did they get you?"

"It's part of a plan. The young man who brought me here, he's going to help us."

"How? He's the one that brought you to a cell."

"He's a friend."

In the main room of the warlock's castle, Connor meets face to face with the sinister being that is after the girls. He tries to keep it cool as he approaches him.

"So, you brought me a witch," says the warlock. "One of the daughters of the three most powerful witches family."

"Yeah," replies Connor. "It wasn't easy."

"I should know. I've been looking for them for years and their families power for centuries."

"What's so special about their powers?" Connor just wanted some info for his own benefit.

"Their combined powers for centuries. A witch and powerful wizard like Joyce and Giles. Their daughter would be the most powerful witch of all. I hope that you have brought me her."

"Either way, you've got one. In no time the others would try to rescue their sister and fail miserably."

"Yes, it's true, but to go against the witches on my own is not something I'd like to do."

"You're not powerful enough."

"You got nerve, boy. I am, but I don't want to risk it. The only one that I'm worried about is that wizard. Heard rumors he is not dead and has been looking for his daughter since."

"You scared?"

"Never. I've got guards and my new mistress."

"I heard. She pretty?"

"Yes, very and a very good asset."

"Is someone talking about me," says a woman in black in a dark corner.

"Speaking of witch," says the warlock with a sinister smile.

"Lindsey, aren't you going to introduce me?" The mistress walks over to Connor and the warlock, Lindsey, slowly. Her high heels made a loud sound as she makes her way over to them.

"This is Drusilla," says Lindsey.

"Someone's keeping secrets," says Drusilla as she looks at Connor.

"Who, my sweet?"

"Him." Drusilla points at Connor. Lindsey looks at Connor. Before Connor knew what hit him, Lindsey has him pushed against a wall pulled up by his throat.

"Is that so?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Sun, Moon, and the Stars.

Connor is coughing as Lindsey squeezes his throat tighter. He tries to pull his hand away from him, but the warlock is too strong.

"Are you betraying me?" asks Lindsey with a sinister look.

"How could…" Connor tries to speak. "…I brought…ya one of…the witches."

"He is lying," says Drusilla, who walks over to him. She passes her long nail down the side of Connor's face. "The girl you brought, she's no witch."

"Is that true?" asks Lindsey to Connor. He loosens his grip of his throat, so he could answer his question.

Connor tries to breathe and glares at Drusilla. He then turns to face Lindsey.

"Your mistress is crazy," says Connor, glaring at Drusilla.

Drusilla runs her long nail down Connor's chest. Lindsey sees what his mistress is up to and grabs her hand before she reaches her final destination. She sneers at him.

"She bares the symbol of one of the witches. The necklace, it's a moon."

Lindsey releases Connor, who falls to the ground almost out of breath. He coughs and looks at Lindsey.

"Bring the prisoner here," says Lindsey to one of his guards. "We'll see if she is who you say she is."

Meanwhile at Prince William's castle, Xander paces back and forth outside the main doors. Giles walks over to him and Xander looks at him, then continues his pacing. He walks over to the young wizard and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be fine," says Giles.

"How do you know?" asks Xander. "She has no idea how to use her powers or what they are for that matter."

"She will find it in herself and when she needs it, she will use it."

"I think we should go now. What if they were caught?"

"Then they'd be already here for the girls."

"You'd think Connor would give in so easily."

"He's not to be trusted. A shape shifter can't ever change. He is bound by his master and will always do what it takes to do his bidding."

"Then why did we send Buffy with him if you didn't trust him?" Xander is already getting mad at the elder wizard.

"Because our plan could work. As risky as it is, the warlock will find the soft spot in his heart for Buffy."

"I can't stand imagining that thing touching her."

"I couldn't either, but you must wait."

"How long?"

"When night falls. Tara will lead the way."

"You better tell her that."

"It is her destiny to lead. She is after all my daughter."

Tara, Dawn, and Willow come out of the castle. They walk over to Giles and Xander who turn over to them as they approach them.

"Dawn's getting worried," says Tara to her father, Giles. "We all are worried."

Xander nods his head, but turns away quickly, so they won't see a small tear fall down his cheek.

"I think we should go."

"I agree with Tara," says Willow.

"Me, too," says Dawn.

"Then we shall," says Giles as he looks at the horizon. The sun is setting and is turning the skies into different shades of pinks and orange. "Let's get ready."

Back at the warlock's castle, Buffy is being taken from her cell. She struggles from the grasp of the guard, but he is too strong for her.

Darla, from the cell next to Buffy's, watches as they take her. She goes over to her cell door and starts to bang at it to get the guard's attention. He ignores her and pulls Buffy out of the prison.

The guard takes her over to the main room of the castle where Lindsey, Connor, and Drusilla wait for her arrival.

"Here she is, Master," says the guard as he throws her at Lindsey's feet.

Lindsey goes down to her. He sees that her head is down and he lifts it up with his finger, slowly. His eyes locked with her beautiful, green eyes, which mesmerized the warlock for some strange reason.

Drusilla did not like the way Lindsey was looking at the beautiful, blonde on the floor. She isn't happy at all.

"She's beautiful," says Lindsey. He then looks down on her neck and sees the necklace that Connor had mentioned.

Buffy is scared out of her mind. Her hands are tied behind her back and she could not find a way to stand up. She only looked at the warlock, who seems to have a kind expression on his face.

"Untie her," says Lindsey to the guard. The guard did as he was told and Buffy then rubs her wrist.

She still faces the warlock, then sees Connor on the floor holding his neck. Buffy becomes worried. She has a feeling that perhaps they have been caught and that the warlock knows she is not one of the witches that he wants.

"What's your name?"

Buffy is confused by the warlock's question, even though it was a simple question. She begins to think that maybe the plan is working. The warlock is already flirting with her. Buffy gets into flirt mode and tries to imagine Lindsey to be Xander.

"Buffy," she replies in an innocent tone.

Lindsey extends his hand to her and helps her up. Buffy doesn't hesitate in taking his hand. Connor is surprised that Lindsey took the bait just as planned. He then winks at Buffy to tell her to keep going and not to worry. Buffy takes a deep breath and stares into Lindsey's eyes.

"You look so much like her," says Lindsey as she keeps staring at Buffy.

"Who?" asks Buffy.

"Joyce."

Buffy realizes that he is talking about Tara's mother. She was his obsessive love that brought him down once. Buffy then decides to pull a move, which was risky. She moves closer to Lindsey and grabs the hand that he was holding and places it on her shoulder. Buffy then looks at Drusilla, who is behind Lindsey and gives her an evil grin. She then stares into his blue, colored eyes and by some strange reason, perhaps the reason has no part in this at all, he stares right back and is mesmerized by her green eyes.

"Guards, you can leave." He is still gazing at Buffy when he says this. "Kid, you can leave, too."

Connor bows at Lindsey, then drops a golden bracelet with green stones. He waits a second and then looks at the bracelet.

"Oh, you dropped this," says Connor, picking up the bracelet. He shows it to Buffy, who looks at it for a second, not recognizing it. Then she quickly gets Connor's signal to take it.

"That's mine," says Buffy.

"You wouldn't want to lose something as precious as this, would you?"

Lindsey takes the bracelet from Connor's hands and puts it on Buffy. He then takes her hand and displays it up in the air. Then he looks at her.

"It's quite beautiful," says Lindsey. "Simply not as beautiful as you."

Buffy's eyes widen at his kind of words. He is a charmer that she has figured and perhaps that is his special powers. How could she ever be released from it? Buffy hopes that Xander and the others have a really good plan to save her.

Lindsey takes Buffy away and takes her on a tour around the castle. Drusilla at first wanted to follow, but she decides to follow Connor instead.

As Connor continues on his way, he realizes that Drusilla is following him. The chick was crazy, but she knew he was lying about Buffy being one of the witches that they have been looking for. He decides to fool her by quickly turning into a hallway and transforming into a maid, who accidentally crashes into her.

"I'm sorry, Madame," says Connor in his new female maid form. He bows his head to her, making sure she doesn't look at him in the eye or she will figure him out. Connor then passes by her and keeps walking down the hallway.

Connor is relieved, then heads to the prison where Buffy's aunt is being held. Still dressed as a maid, he passes the guards easily by flirting with them. He finds the cell door where Darla is in and looks around.

Meanwhile, their reinforcements make their way to the dark warlock's castle. They all could see the castle from afar and they could see the sun coming up as they arrive on the outskirts of the warlocks territory. To the left of the castle, they see a small village.

"Lets head over there," says Tara pointing at the village. "After we take a look at the castle."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous without a plan?" asks Dawn. "I mean, I want to get Buffy and Connor out of there, but…"

"Don't worry," says Giles as he passes by Dawn. "We've got one." Giles puts his hand on Tara's shoulder.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17. Sun, Moon, and the Stars.

Thanks, Shadowhawk for helping me get back my muse for this story. Sorry for they delays. Here ya go, hot off the press. LOL.

In the prison, no guard paid attention and Connor, in his female form, unlocks the door to Darla's cell. Darla sees the woman and wonders why and how this woman got the key.

"Come on," says Connor. "I'm here to get you out."

Darla decides to follow and exits the cell. Connor puts his cloak over her, dressing her as he is dressed. He closes the cell gently and looks at Darla.

"Go past the guards and just smile at them," says Connor. "I'll be right behind you."

Darla nods her head and heads slowly over to the exit of the prison, where the guards are. Connor then uses his magic's and creates a human body and covers it with a blanket. He smiles and makes a cloak appear on him, then walks by the guards.

"Repeat," says Connor silently to the guards.

"Hey, pretty girl," says the guard.

Connor bats his eyes at the horrid men and passes them quickly. He enters the hallway of the castle and sees Darla a little lost. Connor walks over to her and takes her hand. The two head over to a darkened room. Connor sees that at the end is a window that will lead to the front of the castle. He then transforms into his normal form.

Darla is surprised by this and Connor quickly goes over to her before she screams and gives them away. He places his hand over her mouth and calms her down.

"Don't scream," says Connor. "I promise you I'll get you out of here. I'm going to remove my hand." He does that and Darla just stares at him.

"My niece," says Darla. "She was taken away."

"By the warlock," says Connor as he pulls the curtains down. "She's going to be fine. As long as he doesn't find out."

"Find out what?"

"That she is seducing him and pretending to be one of the witches he's been looking for years."

"Seducing, witches, warlocks. This is impossible."

"It's true."

"What are you?"

"Shape shifter. I've also learned some magic's from a wizard." Connor goes over to a bed in the room and grabs the covers. "This will do."

"I can't leave her with that man."

"She asked me to get you out and I promised her that."

"What about her?"

"She'll be safe. Don't worry. We aren't without a plan." Connor starts tying the blankets together to make a long rope. He then heads over to the window and from afar, he sees some figures moving in the distance.

The figures keep getting closer and closer to the castle. Connor closes his eyes and smells the air outside. He opens his eyes and looks at Darla.

"Dawn," says Connor to himself.

"How do you know my other niece?" asks Darla.

"She's here with the others. You'll be safe with them. I don't want to leave Buffy alone. I promised Dawn that I'd watch over her and keep her safe."

"Who are they?"

"Good people." Connor finishes tying the blanket. He tosses it over the balcony window. "All right, you have to climb down and when you're midway, you have to push yourself from the wall letting yourself swing over the wall. Once you see yourself pass the wall, let go."

"What? I can't do that."

"It really isn't as hard as you think. You'll do it in one swoop. Now go."

Darla begins to climb down the balcony. She reached midway and started to swing off over the wall. Darla hits her feet against the castle wall and pushes herself. She could see over the wall and quickly let go. Darla falls on the intruders that Connor saw before.

"Ouch," says one of them.

"Shhh," says another.

Another person walks up to Darla and the other lighted up the scene. She quickly hugs her tight.

"Um, could you get off me?" says Giles.

"Sorry about that," says Darla. "I had to escape. Dawn, sweetheart, how did you get here?"

"It's a long story, Aunt Darla," says Dawn. "We need to get going."

"The young man who helped me escape said he knew you."

"Connor?"

"Yes, how do you know him?"

"Ma'am, we haven't time to explain," says Giles as he rubs his head. "I suggest we leave before the guards come around."

"Okay," says Tara. "Follow me."

Xander is the last of them move along. Dawn goes over to him and pulls him. Xander turns to her and bows his head.  
"We'll get her back," says Dawn. "I know we will."

Xander sighs and tries to believe in Dawn's words. They all head into town and reach a tavern/inn. Giles pays for the night for two rooms, with double beds in each. The girls spread out around the tavern, checking out the displays of weapons on the walls.

"We'll have to divide ourselves," says Giles. "Only had enough for two rooms.

"Dawn, Darla, Cordy, Willow, and I will take one room and Wesley, Xander, Giles, and William will take the other," says Tara.

"All right, we'll see you ladies in the morning."

The girls say their goodbyes and head for their rooms. They were all tired, especially Darla. Dawn tries to comfort her aunt as best she can, but she cannot erase the torment she had gone through with the evil warlock. Cordy knew her daughter was worried for her aunt and Buffy, too, and she tried to comfort her as well.

The men stayed downstairs in the bar. Xander couldn't stop worrying about Buffy. He knows from what Giles had told him about Joyce that she died trying to stop this warlock and that somehow time will repeat itself with Buffy.

"Buffy's a strong woman," says Wesley as he puts his hand on Xander's shoulder. "She'll get through this."

"How am I going to get through this?" asks Xander.

Meanwhile at the warlock's castle, after the tour of the castle, Lindsey leads Buffy into a very beautiful room completely out of a fairy tale. The décor is nothing like the rest of the castle. It has light and color.

"I hope this is to your liking," says Lindsey.

Buffy looks around and then turns to Lindsey, who is hoping to see her smile and she does. She nods her head in response. Lindsey is pleased and turns to go.

Outside waiting for him is Drusilla. She glares at him and walks up to him. Tilting her chin up she looks straight into his eyes.

"Remember your plan, my dark prince," says Drusilla. "You need not toy with her. She is a pawn in our game and will be drained of her powers."

"I know what I have to do," says Lindsey. He turns and leaves Drusilla, pondering about Lindsey's exact words. She then looks at Buffy's door.

"I smell a faker and I'm not letting her take my place," says Drusilla. "Goldilocks is going to get fried."

Back at the tavern/inn, Xander comes bursting into the girls rooms. They are all surprised to see him and to see him in a good mood.

"I've got a plan," says Xander. Willow, Tara, Dawn, Cordelia, and Darla look up at him. "It took me all night, but I think we can pull it off. They haven't been around for a while, but I'm sure we can summon one or two. Their caverns aren't too far from here, so if we can…"

"Whoa," says Tara. "Xander, wait a second. We're not catching on here. What are you talking about?"

"Dragons."

"Dragons?" says Dawn and Darla at the same time.

"Aren't they like not good?" says Willow.

"That's a complete myth," says Wesley, entering the room. "They are very much like us humans. Family oriented."

"I don't remember any stories where dragons were family oriented," says Dawn.

"I think Xander might be on to something," says Giles as he enters the room. "I don't think Lindsey would have thought we would attack with dragons."

"Okay, so let's go catch us a dragon," says Tara. "I can't believe I just said that."

"We need to be armed," says Cordelia. "They're very prone to allergies and when they sneeze, run away."

"I think I saw a black smith on the way into town," says Giles. "He could equip us."

"Who is going?" asks Darla, grabbing hold of Dawn.

"Us three we'll stay behind," says Cordelia indicating herself, Dawn, and Darla.

"All right, the rest of us will go," says Giles.

"Whoa, aren't we all getting ahead of ourselves," says William. "Dragons, they may not be dangerous, but their dwellings are on trecherous territory. How in the bloody hell are we going to get up there?"

"We'll deal," says Xander. "I think they're our best allies yet."

"Let's get organized," says Tara. "We'll need a map." She walks over to Xander and the two head out of the room to get a map and figure out their destination.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18.

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Buffy woke up to someone screaming. She quickly headed over to her door and listened in. It was Lindsey yelling at one of his guards.

"How could you let her escape?" yelled Lindsey.

"I don't know," said the guard. "She was there. And…"

"I know that you idiot. Never mind. We still have one witch. The others will come for her and when they do their powers will be mine."

Buffy did not like the sound of that. She didn't want to be bait anymore. It's scaring her and she wished she was home doing homework, anything would be better than being in that castle.

Meanwhile, Tara and Xander were leading the group into a uncharted territory, the land of the dragons. They climbed some large mountains and finally arrived at their nesting grounds. The ground was littered with human bones and the stench of the dead was fresh in the air.

"Ewww," said Tara getting a really good whiff of some remains decomposing near by. "Xander are you sure we could get help from a dragon. They don't seem to like us."

"That's not true," said Xander. "We think that they kill humans and other beings but they don't."

"Umm, Xander the bones here are a dead give away," says Willow.

"Well, yeah but…" Xander said then stops when he spots a dragon just ahead. "Okay, let me do the talking."

"Talking?" asked William. "You'll have to know dragonian language."

"I do."

"Oh, good for you."

"Dragon's have a language?" asked Willow.

"Everyone has a language," said Wesley.

"Oh."

The dragon approached them breathing heavily on them. It's nose holes letting out steam and it's eyes directed at all of them. The dragon was immense. About 50 or more feet tall and it's length was endless with it's tail trailing along the back portions of the mountain where it had come from. Xander walked over to the dragon first and began to talk the dragon's language.

"Hello, my name is Alexander," said Xander. "I've come to seek your help."

"My help," said the dragon in it's native tongue. "Why would a human…" The dragon sniffed the air. "A wizard need help from a dragon."

"We are trying to rescue a friend from the dreaded warlock Lindsey."

"A warlock named Lindsey. Is this the same one who has banished us all from lower grounds unless we abide by his orders?"

"Perhaps we speak of the same Lindsey."

"In that case, I shall help you."

The dragon turned around and called out for more of its dragon friends. Willow and Tara didn't like what was going on. They had no idea what Xander had said to the dragon or vice versa. More dragons came forth and bowed their heads.

"Xander what did you say to them?" asked Tara.

"I asked for help," said Xander. "They've agreed to help. Don't worry."

"My friends here will give you all ride down the mountain then you can lead on to rescue your friend," said the dragon who had spoken to Xander. Xander nodded his head and turned to others.

"They're going to give us a ride down," said Xander. "Come on."

"No way," said William. "I'm not getting on no dragon."

"William don't be such a baby," said Tara. She mounted one of the dragons and gave her hand to William to get on. "Come on."

William looked at Tara's determined expression and couldn't help but take her hand. He got on the dragon behind Tara and grabbed hold of her waist while she grabbed hold of one of the dragon's spikes on its back.

The others mounted other dragons and they took them down slowly. The winds almost seem to carry them as they soared to the earth below. When they landed, the lead dragon approached Xander.

"Where to now?" asked the dragon.

"North," replied Xander pointing northward. "To save Buffy."

Back at the castle, Buffy wondered around the castle hoping to find the exit but with no luck. She did bump into Drusilla whose frown turned upside down when she saw Buffy. Buffy backed away from the woman but she grabbed her arm pulling her close.

"You'd like a tour?" asked Drusilla with an evil smile. "I can show some very interesting things here in the castle." Then another hand grabbed Buffy's other arm. She turn to see who it was and it was none other than Connor.

"She can take the tour later," said Connor. "The master wants to see her." Connor pulled Buffy away from Drusilla. Drusilla glared at Connor as the two walked away.

"Thank you," said Buffy. "That woman's crazy."

"How did you know?"

"I…She is?"

"You need to be careful with her. A lot accidents have happen in her presence. That's why Drusilla is his longest living mistress."

"She's killed the others."

"And she has her eyes set on you."

"What am I suppose to do? I'm a sitting duck here."

"You can transform into animals too?"

"No. It's just figure of speech."

"Oh, well we just need to…" Connor stopped and Buffy wondered why. She got her answered when she turned around and saw Lindsey.

"I've been looking for you," said Lindsey to Buffy. "Come with me. I have something to show you." He pulled her along and she gave a worried look to Connor.

Lindsey took her to his quarters where shelves were full of books and a huge cauldron sat in the middle of the room. As Buffy passed by it she noticed that something was brewing inside. They were in one of the many towers of Lindsey's castle and it only had one small window where you could hear the sounds of the outside world that Buffy yearn to be part of.

"I'm the most powerful warlock in this realm," said Lindsay as he walked around the room. "I command all beings and I will conquer this realm. Power, possessions, wealth. All these things are the same to me because they are what I need. You…" Lindsey pointed at Buffy. "…have something I need. If you're willing I'll make it as painless as possible. I say you could last a good 15 minutes give or take…"

"15 minutes," said Buffy. "For what?"

"For you to live once I've drain your power from your body." Lindsey pulled out a large blade that seem to shimmer without any light reflecting on it. Buffy gasp when she saw and started to stumble as she backed away from Lindsey. "I don't desire to hurt you. All I want is your power."

Lindsey begins to approach her. Buffy crashes against a wall and curses herself for not finding the door. Lindsey grabbed her hand. "It's all in your veins. Everything. Every single last drop of blood." He pulls the blade over her wrist where she had the green bracelet. It made the blade turn red. "Such power. It needs to come out."

"She is lying," Drusilla said as she entered the room. Lindsey put his attention on his mistress. "Naughty naughty. You're a bad girl. You have no power."

"Yes, she does," said Lindsey. "The blade tells me so."

"She has tricks that fool you master but she can't fool me." Drusilla places her hand over her eyes then pulls them away as she approaches Buffy. "Lies." Drusilla pulled Buffy's necklace off and in seconds the stone started to burn her hand. She dropped it and growled at Buffy. Buffy quickly went down to get the fallen necklace and the instant she touched it the stone started to glow brightly that it blinded everyone in the room.

The light was so bright that even from miles away it could be seen by a group of dragons flying towards the castle. They all wondered where could such a bright light come from and they realized where it was coming from.

"What is that?" asked Tara to Giles as she was covering her eyes with her arm to block away the light.

"Joyce?" Giles mumbled.

"What?" Tara then started feeling something inside her then her star stone began to glow. She looked to her left and saw that Willow's stone was glowing too. "What does this mean?"

"I think something big is about to happen," said Xander.

The castle was in clear view and they could all see the bright light emanating from one of the towers. From that tower Buffy backed up to the only window in the tower and peered out through it to finally get away from the blindly light. What she saw made her want to be blind. An army of flying dragons were flying towards the castle.

Lindsey saw the dragons and he quickly pulled Buffy away from the window. His forceful moved made Buffy's moon stone shine the light towards the dragons blinding them. This made one dragon scratch the tower making it tremble. Another smacked it with it's tail breaking a big chunk of where the window was suppose to be.

"Turn around," said Xander. "You hit the tower. Buffy's in there."

Running up the crumbling towers stairs was Connor. He heard the big crashes and knew something was happening. The tower started to creek and every time someone moved a brick would fall off.

"No body move," said Lindsey. "Don't even breath."

They felt a wind blowing at them from above and when the looked up they saw one of the dragons slowly approaching them. On it's back was Xander and extended his hand down.

"Give me your hand," said Xander. Buffy tried to reached but she was too far and the instant she moved the tower shook.

"Oh no you don't," said Lindsey as he formed a fire ball to throw at Xander. The dragon started to back away but Xander didn't want to.

"No, stop," said Buffy.

Lindsey, still holding the fire ball in his hand, looked at Buffy's green eyes. Her eyes were filled with tears but she put on a brave face to say what she was going to say now.

"You can have my power." Buffy tossed the moon stone to Connor. "No more tricks. Just please don't hurt them."

"What a noble thing to do. You truly are one of them." Lindsey slowly started to walk to her.

"Buffy no," said Xander. "We have to…"

"We can't do anything. The warlock is too strong," said the dragon as it pulled away from the crumbling tower.

Connor could tell that Lindsey's guard was down as he slowly approached Buffy. He had a plan and he had to put it in motion now or he'll never have chance to save Buffy. Connor quickly tackled Buffy and jumped out what was left of the window. Buffy began to scream like a manic but soon calmed down as Connor turn into a dragon and carried her away from the castle.

"No, noooooooooooooooo!" yelled Lindsey.

AN: It's a long time coming. Sorry for the major delay. I hope you guys like it.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19.

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

Buffy was grabbing hold of the dragon's claws, praying that she wouldn't fall. They were a long way from the ground, and no amount of magic would save her from that terrible fall. Connor found a clearing where he could land, and he dropped her close to the ground, then he landed changing back to his regular form.

"That was insane," said Buffy, walking up to Connor.

"Yeah, but it worked," replied Connor.

"What was that light? Why was it doing that?"

"The bracelet I gave you. It's supposed to protect you from anything that threatens you. It also made the warlock believe that you had strong powers."

"None of that was me?"

"No."

Buffy took the bracelet off and handed it to Connor.

"I guess I won't be needing that." She then walked away. Connor placed the bracelet in his pocket and caught up to Buffy.

"Are you upset that you don't have powers like Dawn, Willow, and Tara?"

"No, I'm not." She turned around to face him. "I don't want anything to do with that."

The other dragons caught sight of them and landed nearby. Xander was the first to land, he quickly ran to them.

"Buffy," called Xander. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," replied Buffy in a cold tone.

"So, what now?" asked Willow. "Yeah, we got Buffy back, but now we're back to square one."

"Willow's right," said Wesley. "I think we came in too soon."

"You came in just in time," said Connor. "He was just about to kill her."

"But I was sure he…" said Giles.

"He's just after power. He has no heart."

"What do we do now?" asked William. "Lindsey is not going to be twiddling his thumbs. He's going to come after them, and when he…"

"What do you want us to do?" asked Xander. "I'm not sending Buffy back, and I'm sure hell ain't going up against him. We should just back off. The girls aren't ready to fight him."

"That's a mistake to begin with," said Giles as he walked toward Xander. "We need to stand our ground. Lindsey knows that the powers that these girls have can defeat him."

"They aren't ready. Didn't you hear me, old man?"

"I heard you loud and clear, and I'm saying you're wrong."

"Stop," said Tara, coming between the two wizards. "Is it true? Do we have such a great power that we could defeat this warlock?"

"Yes," replied Giles.

"No, you haven't even mastered them yet, let alone use it on someone as skillful as Lindsey. I'm not going to feed them to the wolf. They need time."

"We don't have time," said Tara. "We need more information about him. Buffy, what can you tell us?"

Buffy turned around and faced Tara. She tried to remember some moments with Lindsey at the castle.

"_That's mine," said Buffy. _She remembers his eyes interlocking with hers, and it felt like if he were casting a spell on her.

"_You wouldn't want to lose something as precious as this, would you?"_

"_It's quite beautiful," said Lindsey. "Simply not as beautiful as you." _His charms again deceive her for the second time, and she struggles with his flirtatious ways.

"_We still have one witch. The others will come for her, and when they do their powers will be mine." _Realizing the truth beyond his charms. What he wants most of all is power.

"_I've been looking for you," said Lindsey to Buffy. "Come with me. I have something to show you." _His charms lead her to the tower, a trap for the good witch.

Buffy snapped out of her flashback and saw that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her to say something. Worried looks formed on their faces when she didn't speak for a while.

"You were right," said Buffy, looking down. "He's a charmer. Saw me as a prize, but I was only important to him because he thought I was Dawn. We sure fooled him."

"Why do I get the feeling like you're upset because he deceived you?" said Xander.

"I'm not upset." Buffy turned away. "His mistress is some sort of seer. Somehow, he'll always be one step ahead of us."

"She's not a seer," said Connor.

"She knew stuff. She knew I wasn't Dawn."

"Drusilla," said Giles.

"You know her?" Buffy turned to Giles.

"The only reason she has visions is because she stole them from an oracle. She killed him and drank his blood."

"The power is in the blood. That's what Lindsey said. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Buffy, what are you getting at?"

"Nothing."

Meanwhile at Lindsey's castle, vials were being thrown against the walls. Loud crashes of furniture being thrown around, which made it feel like thunder on a stormy day. Drusilla watched Lindsey as he continued to demolish the room he was in, and taking all his anger on any inanimate object he could get his hands on. He then turned to Drusilla and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Where is she?" yelled Lindsey. "You said she didn't have power, but she did. I'd know that power anywhere. Tell me who she is?"

"She's not one of the three witches you've been looking for," said Drusilla.

"Don't you think I know that?" Lindsey pulled away from Drusilla, then brushed his hand through his hair. "Those witches they couldn't harness such power if they weren't…"

"The stars."

"What did you say?" Lindsey turned to Drusilla, who began to gaze up at the ceiling.

"The stars. I see them."

"What stars?"

"The one around her neck. A pretty woman with blue eyes."

"Joyce."

Everyone had returned to the tavern where they had left Cordelia, Dawn, and Darla. Darla and Dawn were happy to see Buffy was all right. After her long hug and group hug with Buffy, Dawn walked up to Connor, who seemed to stay off in the distance.

"Thanks for keeping Buffy safe," said Dawn.

"I promised," said Connor.

Later that night, Buffy stepped outside to get some fresh air. She was tired of being in closed places and needed to take a breather. Giles joined her, sitting beside her as they looked up at the stars.

"Wow, you'd never see this many stars in Sunnydale," said Buffy.

"Buffy," said Giles. "Do you feel helpless? Was it wrong of us to send you…?"

"Yes and no, I would never have wanted Lindsey to lay his hands on Dawn or the others." She got up and looked at Giles. "I don't know why I'm here. What am I so useful for?"

"You are. You have power."

"I do?" Buffy glanced at Giles. "Why couldn't I use it?"

"It's new to you. You've never used it before, so you'll need to learn how."

"So do the others. Like Xander said."

"Yes."

"Why did you agree to send your wife to Lindsey in the past?"

"I didn't." Giles stood up and gazed up toward the sky. "It was Joyce's idea. She knew that he had an eye for her and thought a distraction would have helped to bring him down." Giles waved his hand in a circular motion, and in mid air appeared a beautiful bracelet. "I gave this to her before she left. It was the last thing I ever gave her." He handed the bracelet to Buffy.

"This bracelet looks just like the one Connor gave me."

"Why would he give you this?"

"It was to protect me. Made me believe I made that bright light in the tower back in Lindsey's castle."

"The bracelet couldn't have done that."

"How do you know?"

"Because that bright light was you."

"I don't think so. I couldn't have…" Buffy turned away from Giles.

"I thought it wasn't possible for such a bright light like that to ever take place. It was as…"

"…bright as a star." Buffy faced away from Giles, and he looked at her when she finished his sentence.

"No one knows that but her. But you couldn't…"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Where did you hear that?"

"What? I just…I don't know."

"Could you be…?" Giles walked over to Buffy. A look of confusion was what he saw, until it began to change in to horror. Her green eyes widened at the sight behind Giles, which made her speechless. Giles turned around and saw what Buffy was seeing. It was a dozen packs of wolves charging towards them.

Upstairs half asleep, Xander heard a wolf howl. Its shrieking sound awoke him, making him look out the window. There he saw the packs of wolves rushing toward the tavern, and downstairs at the door way he saw Buffy and Giles. He quickly made his way downstairs to the entrance of the tavern.

"Buffy, get inside," said Giles as he grabbed her and pushed her towards the tavern door. Buffy turned to the door and tried to open it. The door suddenly opened, and Buffy fell right into Xander's arms. The two look at each other, than look outside and see the dozen of wolves heading right toward them. Xander pulled Buffy up and exited the tavern. He saw Giles performing a spell to shield them from the attack of the wolves. A force field of some kind began to cover the entryway of the tavern, and it continued to grow. Buffy pulled on Xander's arm, and he turned to her.

"Stay inside, you'll be safe there," said Xander, pushing her inside.

"But what about you?" asked Buffy, still with a good hold of his arm.

"I need to help Giles." Xander pulled his arm away and closed the door. He turned around and began to chant the same spell Giles had. The field began to grow larger and stronger as the wolves started beating at it hard.

"What's going on?" asked Tara to Buffy. Willow, Dawn, and the others were awakened as well, and came to see what the commotion was.

"There are wolves," said Buffy, still a little terrified when she had seen them from afar.

"Wolves," said William as he peeked through a window. "More like werewolves. I've seen the likes of them, and they sure weren't pleasant to greet. One bite and you're one of them for good. We need to get out of here."

"But Giles and Xander," said Buffy.

"Won't affect 'em. Come on."

"We should stand and fight," said Tara. "We're powerful witches, and I know we can take on these wolves."

"Now who is cocky? This is no time for getting…"

"I'm with Tara," said Willow.

"Will you guys help me out here?" claimed William to Connor and Wesley.

"They are quite temperamental creatures, but creatures that could be tamed with the right spell," said Wesley.

"Lindsey's controlling them with a spell, then why can't we?" said Connor.

"But what spell?" asked Dawn.

Suddenly they heard a loud thump at the door, then the door came crashing in with a wounded Xander on top. Giles came hurling through the window, and crashed into a table. The wolves entered through the doorway, and the window on all fours.

"A spell would be good right about now," said William. "Any spell."

Author note: I know I'm getting slower at updating. Sorry for those who enjoy this story. I have plans I promise. Anyone saw Anthony Head (aka Giles) show on NBC Merlin. Xander's line "...old man" to Giles made me think of him. Tony is getting old. He was already old on Buffy but he's really old now. LOL.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

The wolves began to walk toward them, cornering them. One of the wolves, the leader of the pack, stood on two legs and approached them. He began to smell them, trying to figure out which ones were witches. Power has a distinctive smell.

Connor stood up front, letting the leader of the pack know that he was the leader in this group. A couple of growls and grunts were exchanged, that somehow symbolized animal language. They both glared at each other, but neither moved a muscle, forward or back.

The werewolf twisted its neck, and turned to his pack. His followers started walking closer to them. Then, in a harsh and raspy voice, the leader of the pack spoke.

"We are here for the witches," he said. "Hand them over."

"Not a chance," responded Connor, confronting the leader of the pack.

Caught off guard, the leader of the wolf pack slapped Connor across the face, sending him hurling into some tables and chairs.

"Connor," called Dawn, wanting to run to his side, but Cordelia and Buffy pulled her back.

"We are not afraid," said Tara in a firm and confident tone.

"Tara, what are you doing?" asked Willow.

"We're stronger than all of you." Tara grabbed Dawn's hand and Willow's. Dawn grabbed Cordelia's, and Willow grabbed Buffy's.

They suddenly began to glow, and neither of the wolves, or the guys that were still conscious liked what would happen next.

"I suggest you duck for cover," said Cordelia as she felt the wind pick up. Wesley, Darla, and William quickly got behind one of the large tables.

Abruptly, a bright force field light emanated from the girls, hitting the wolf pack and sending them out of the tavern back into the woods. The girls were surprised that they succeeded. After their state of shock, they quickly went to help Xander and Giles. Buffy went to Xander, while Tara went to Giles. Dawn went to Connor's side. He was in better shape than the other two, but Dawn was upset that he had a large scar on his cheek. When the wolf had slapped him, he got nicked with his claws which left an unsightly mark. She caressed his face slightly, until he grabbed her hand and got up. Connor helped Dawn up and tightened his grip on her hand, leading her away from the debris.

"Wow, that was neat," said Willow.

"Quite high level powers," said Wesley, passing by Willow.

"Yeah, really great," said Cordelia. "Now, let's get out of here before they come back."

"Back," said Buffy, turning to Cordelia. "What do you mean?"

"You've only pushed them away from here," explained Wesley. "They'll be coming after us, so we best be on our way." Wesley walked over to Buffy and helped her lift up Xander. William did the same with Giles. They all headed to a back entrance and found the owner of the tavern hiding in a corner.

"We're sorry for the mess," said Cordelia. "Here's for the night." Cordelia placed some coins on a counter, then she followed the others out.

Outside, they found an old wagon and two wild horses. They got Xander and Giles into the wagon. Tara and Buffy mounted the wagon, too, while Wesley and William pushed the wagon to the road. Connor led the horses over to the wagon, then roped them so they could pull the wagon.

Darla and Cordelia mounted the wagon with help from Wesley and William. Connor helped Dawn up, and he mounted right after her. Wesley and William went to the front to hold the reigns of the horses. A quick whip and the horses were going.

"Are they going to be all right?" asked Darla to Cordelia, worried about Xander and Giles.

"Yes," replied Cordelia. "They're Wizards. They can withstand almost anything."

"Then why aren't they awake yet?" asked Buffy.

"I don't know, but trust me. They're fine. They just need to rest."

"We all need to rest," said Tara.

Suddenly, they heard a low howl from a wolf. They looked down the road they were riding on, but they do not see anything.

"I think we need to go faster," said Dawn.

"I've got it," said Connor as he jumped over to where Wesley and William were. He jumped between the horses, and morphed into a horse himself. With his teeth, he grabbed the rope between the horses and began to pull. The wagon started going faster and from a distance, they could see a castle.

The bumps on the road awaken Xander, whose head was lying on Buffy's lap. Buffy was relieved that he was okay. Xander looked around and noticed that everyone was there, except for Connor. He heard the wolves howling and realized that they were being chased by them. Everyone held on to whatever they could as the wagon started going faster, making it move vigorously.

From afar, Xander saw a familiar castle and knew that the road they were on led right to it. He was hoping that the wolves wouldn't catch up, but hopeful thinking did not help his cause. Darla saw one of the wolves traveling so fast it looked like a blur of blackness in the darkness. She gasped and Xander saw the wolf as well.

"We have to get to that castle," said Xander. "We'll be safe there."

"The wolves," said Buffy. "They're catching up. We can't make it to that castle. It's too far."

"How did you escape from the wolves the last time?"

"Luck."

"We used our powers," replied Tara.

"All of us," said Cordelia, looking at Dawn, Willow, and Buffy. Xander looked at Buffy, then turned around facing the back of the wagon, where he saw not one but two wolves already on their tails. He then began to chant something and moved his hands in a circular motion. From within his hand, a strange source appeared and everyone looked at him, curious to know what it was.

Suddenly, he pushed it harshly toward the oncoming wolves. It made a misty fog that blinded the wolves and allowed them to speed away toward the castle, escaping the clutches of the wolves once again.

As they grew closer to the castle, Tara felt something strange inside her and her pendant shimmered. When the wagon stopped, she gazed up at the gigantic castle and wondered why she was feeling this way.

Everyone got off from the wagon and walked down a drawbridge that led to the castle. Tara was the last to get off, and she was helped by William. Wesley and Xander helped get Giles down, and carried him across the bridge. They suddenly heard the wolves howling close by and decided to scramble into the castle. Luckily the door was open and they all rushed inside. As Connor was entering the doorway, Dawn saw the wolves already at the bridge. They quickly closed the large door and leaned on it.

"It's all right," said Xander. "We're safe."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about," said William. "They're outside."

"The castle is enchanted. They can't ever get in."

"How did we?" asked Buffy as they pulled away from the door. They heard the wolves whimpering, then leaving, not wanting to endure more pain from an enchanted castle.

"This is Joyce and Giles' castle. The presence of you three must have allowed us in."

"Doesn't look like anybody has been here for a long time," said Cordelia, noticing cob webs and a ton of dust everywhere. "It's so different now."

"We should get some rest," said Xander. "Pick a room." Xander and Wesley carrying Giles, headed down a hallway and into the first room. Tara followed behind them. They laid Giles on the bed, then exited the room leaving Tara alone with Giles.

As Xander exited the room, he saw Buffy entering a far off room with Darla. Cordelia had gone with Dawn and the others into separate rooms. Everyone was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Xander walked by the hallway near Buffy's room and overheard Buffy talking to Darla.

"I guess Dawn is going to want to stay here," said Darla as she walked around the bed of the room. "Finding her real family and all."

"Aunt Darla, she's not neglecting you," said Buffy. "This is all new to her, and really out of our comprehension to help her cope."

"I know that, but she needs someone she can trust. Like you, Buffy. You need to stay with her and let her…"

"No, I'm not staying. I'd rather be doing homework than stay here."

"But, Buffy, Dawn needs you here."

"But nothing. First time I get, I'm out of here. You should be thinking the same thing." Buffy headed for the door.

Xander in the corridor quickly entered his room just as Buffy exited hers. She heard a door close, but shrugged it off. Buffy decided to head over to where they had laid Giles and check on him. When she entered the room, Tara was already falling asleep so she slowly closed the door. As she walked over to the bed, she saw that Giles didn't look any better than he did when they placed him on the wagon.

Buffy walked around the room and noticed a case that had imprints of three familiar jewelry. She touched it and a spark spread around like dust in the air. Suddenly, Buffy heard a baby crying and turned around. Right before her was a woman in a lavish Victorian like dress, carrying a baby in her arms.

The baby's cries awaken Tara, and she was surprised to see the woman in the room with the baby. She looked at Buffy, then back at the woman and realized that Buffy does see the woman, but for some strange reason, the woman does not see them. The woman had golden blonde hair, with curls and soft blue eyes. She hummed a little melody to quiet down the baby.

The door abruptly opened, which startled both Tara and Buffy. The two stood close to each other as they saw the man enter the room. He was an older man, wearing worn out clothing and leather boots. He too could not see the girls and went straight to the woman. The man bowed to her on his knees.

"My Queen," said the man. "You asked for me?"

"Yes," replied the woman. "It is the only favor I ask of you, but it's very important that you do everything as I say. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Please take this child as far away as you can from here."

"But why? She's…"

"She is my child, and she is not safe here. I don't wish her to ever know that she is marked for death because she's a target for warlocks, who want her powers. I want her to have a normal life." The woman hands the man the baby.

"And the King, he is all right with this…"

"He doesn't even know she exists. I kept her hidden from him, and he will never know. You must keep this secret for me." The man nodded his head. "Now, please go."

"Your highness this is…Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes." The woman began to cry as she took off an emerald necklace she wore around her neck. She handed it to the man before her.

Buffy has seen that necklace before. The small stone was shaped in an octagon and in the center of it there was a big golden star, with two long points that pointed north and south. The man accepted the necklace and placed it on the child. It shimmered as the baby touched it.

"Keep this with her at all times. It will keep her safe." The man nodded his head, then turned to go. As the door closed, the woman closed her eyes and fell to her knees. The realization of giving her first born away hit her like a ton of bricks and she began to cry helplessly.

"Joyce," said Giles who had been awake during the turmoil that his beloved wife had gone through. Buffy and Tara looked at Giles, then back at the woman on the floor, but she was gone.

"Dad," said Tara as she walked over to Giles' bed side. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, you saw that, right?"

"Yes, she was Joyce? Was that my mother?"

"It was her." Giles looked at Tara. "But the child...the child wasn't you."

"It wasn't. Then who..."

"I think it was me," said Buffy as she pulled from beneath her shirt an emerald stone with a golden star. It shimmered as she touched it.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

Giles and Tara looked at the emerald stone that Buffy had. It was the same one Joyce had given to the child she gave away many years ago. Giles then looked at Buffy, who seemed a little shocked to have realized she is actually a witch and half wizard just like Tara. She didn't understand how any of this came to be, but the truth was staring her right in the face with the emerald stone that she carried in her hand.

"I knew there was something about you that reminded me of Joyce," said Giles as he got up from the bed and walked to Buffy. "I almost believed you were her, but now I know…you're my daughter, too."

"You're my older sister," said Tara in her timid voice. "I never had a sister." The two new found sisters held hands and looked at Giles. He then grabbed their hands, creating a circle and it made the girls necklaces glow bright.

"I never knew that Joyce kept you a secret from me," said Giles. "We were always truthful with each other, even when we decided that it was best to send you away for protection." Giles looked at Tara. "I don't know why she kept this from me."

"I know why," said Cordelia, who had been at the doorway for the last couple of minutes. "Joyce had her reasons and it was her own choice. After all, you weren't too convinced at sending the girls away in the first place."

"It was your plan," said Giles. "The three of you had it planned from the instant you knew you were expecting."

"We informed you of the situation, and we thought it was the best plan."

"Then why didn't Joyce inform me about Buffy? Why didn't she tell me about her existence?"

"I don't know her reasons, but Joyce knew what she was doing and believed that it was…"

"The best idea. Well, it wasn't."

"Giles, it's okay," said Buffy. "We're getting way too worked up about the past here."

"Buffy's right," Tara said. "What we need to worry about is what we're going through now, and leave the past in the past. We can't do anything about it now."

"She's right," Cordelia said. "Let's get some rest." They all agreed and the girls left Giles' room. He was now left alone in Joyce's' room. He looked around the room and everything spoke to him, just like it had told him about Buffy. Sleep wasn't something that could easily claim him because all he had in his mind were Joyce's reasons for keeping Buffy hidden from him. It didn't make sense to him at all, and he knew that someone would give him the answers, or perhaps this room could speak again. He continued to ponder on reasons that hardly made sense to him, but soon sleep took hold of him, and he drifted away.

The next morning a strange and yet familiar smell woke up Dawn from her sleep. She knew that aroma anywhere, and quickly got out of bed in search of the source of this smell. Cordelia followed behind her. The girls followed the smell to the castle's kitchen, where they found Darla cooking.

"Aunt Darla, how are you making this?" asked Dawn. "Where did you find the eggs?"

"There is a farm out back and luckily there were plenty of fresh eggs for the picking," said Darla. "The pantry is also stocked with plenty of food."

"A farm, but how did they survive if this castle's been abandoned for years?"

"Dawn, you forget this is an enchanted castle," said Cordelia. "It kept the animals protected and still producing."

"How did you pick the eggs?" asked Dawn. "I've heard it's a pretty dangerous job."

"Not for a farm girl," replied Darla. "When I was a kid, my parents had a farm and most of our chores were picking eggs, milking cows, and churning butter."

"Lucky us. I'm so hungry I could eat three omelets."

"Dawn, don't you think that's a bit much?" said Cordelia.

"Don't worry, there is enough for everyone," said Darla.

The others awoke with the same aroma, bringing them into the kitchen. William, Wesley, Tara, and Willow entered the kitchen to find a large wooden table set up with milk, and even fresh bread that was magically stored away.

In Buffy's room, Buffy woke up wondering where her aunt Darla could be. She became worried and exited her room quickly. As she darted out of her room, she crashed into Xander, who was making his way to the kitchen. The two were really close to each other, and it took them both a little time to speak up.

Down one side of the hallway was Connor, who saw the two embrace, but on the other side of the hallway was Giles, who wasn't too thrilled at the sight. Xander and Buffy released each other, feeling a little uncomfortable at this confrontation. Buffy quickly walked away and down the hallway, ignoring Giles on her way.

Xander made his way down the hallway and Giles glared at him as he passed by. Connor followed Xander and noticed Giles' glare. He quickly passed by him towards the kitchen.

"So, I know you're not Dawn's adopted mom," said Cordelia, trying to make small talk while Darla continued to crack some more eggs into a bowl.

"No, I'm not," replied Darla as she continued to mix the eggs together with milk. "My sister was. She and her husband died about six years ago. My sister then left her in my care."

"And Buffy calls you Aunt Darla, too. How are you related?"

"My brother. He's the special one in the family. He wanted to grow up and be a parent. Thought it was easy, but it wasn't. Girlfriend after girlfriend, he got tired and decided to embark on some other adventure. Left Buffy after she graduated high school with a house paid in full. The only thing he gave her in all his life."

"And I thought things were rough here."

"It wasn't easy. She rented some of the rooms out to some college students, and that's when she met Willow. They became instant friends."

"What about Willow? What kind of life did she have? Her parents?"

"I'm not sure. She doesn't talk about them much."

"And Tara?"

"I don't know. They must have known her from around town. The girls never mention her."

Cordelia and Darla walked out of the kitchen and into the dinning room, where everyone was seated waiting for more omelets. Carrying two plates of omelets, they set them down on the table and sat down themselves to enjoy some breakfast. Cordelia took a bite of one of the omelets.

"No amount of magic could make anything this delicious," said Cordelia.

"That's the truth," said Dawn. "Thanks, Aunt Darla."

"You're welcome," said Darla.

"Eat up," said Giles. "We have a long day ahead of us."

"I thought we were safe here," said Willow.

"In theory," replied Xander. "Lindsey's a very powerful warlock. He'll find his way in, and we need to be prepared when he does."

"So, what are we going to do?" asked Buffy.

"We aren't doing anything." Xander looked at Buffy, then got up and walked past her. "Willow, Dawn, and Tara will be training with us. Mastering their skills and developing a deep connection with their powers."

"But I…"

"Civilians will stay away in their rooms. If we can gather enough powers, perhaps we can transport you all to safety. We can't have any distractions and…"

"Distractions!" Buffy rose up. "You think you are some all powerful wizard, but what you are is some overbearing jerk." Buffy slammed her hands on the wooden table, and suddenly it began to levitate. Everyone was surprised by this and looked at Buffy, who realized that she was the one doing the levitating. The table dropped harshly.

"How did you…" Xander looked at Buffy, surprised that she could do such a high level task for a witch.

Giles walked over to Buffy and placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down a bit.

"I have an announcement," said Giles. "Buffy is my daughter."

"Really?" said Dawn.

"That's so neat," said Willow.

"I think we have an advantage over Lindsey," said Tara. "He has no idea there is four of us."

"We will train all of you, and no one is going anywhere. We need all the help we can get."

"How can I be of help?" asked Darla.

"You have already done your part," responded Giles. "Breakfast was wonderful."

"Thank you."

"Giles is right," Cordelia said. "Everyone can help. William and Connor, you'll teach hand to hand combat."

"I can do that," replied William. Connor nodded his head.

"Giles and Wesley, you guys take care of the book work. Spells, incantations, and potions."

"Where is the library?" asked Wesley.

"Second and third floor," replied Giles.

"There are two floors?"

"Yes."

"And Xander and I will teach you how to use your inner powers. This is going to be tough, but worth it in the end. So, who is ready to begin?"

Everyone raised their hands up but Xander, who was still surprised at the announcement about Buffy being Giles' daughter. No one commented on the fact that he didn't raise his hand, and continued to finish with breakfast. After they ate, everyone went to their rooms. Xander couldn't let Buffy get away, so he grabbed hold of her and pulled her into a small room near the kitchen.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"How could you be Giles' daughter?" asked Xander.

"Because I am." Buffy showed him the stone that she wore around her neck. "It used to be hers. She gave it to me when she gave me away."

"You were in Joyce's room. Of course, her essence is still in there. She wanted you know."

"I didn't think that I belonged here," said Buffy. "This strange and yet familiar place kept beckoning me to come in. Now I find out that I'm Joyce's and Giles' daughter. This is just too overwhelming."

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. About being a distraction. I didn't mean…"

"I know what you meant. I'm sorry about getting angry at you because you were right."

"You're stronger than you know."

"Just because I'm the daughter of a witch and a wizard, doesn't make me strong."

"But you are."

"Not if I don't know how to use it."

"I'll teach you."

"I can't." Buffy wiped her tears. "I can't end up like my mom. She was a distraction and now she's dead. I won't fight. I won't." She turned and left the room.

Xander rolled his eyes, then ran his fingers through his hair. He turned around and saw Darla. She came out of the pantry that led into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," said Darla with her head down and trying to make a quick getaway. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"Not much of a secret," said Xander with a sigh.

"You really care for her?"

"Huh?"

"Buffy, I mean. You wouldn't have called her a distraction if you didn't." Darla walked past Xander, letting him think of what she said.

Later, everyone met in the main hall, where they had entered the castle the day before. Buffy and Darla were last to come, and Xander noticed she didn't want to come. Giles walked to the center of the room and turned around to look at all of them.

"Let's begin the training," said Giles. "We have a lot to cover."

Dawn looked at Willow, Willow looked at Tara, and she looked at Buffy. Buffy then looked at Xander, who was standing next to Giles. On Giles' other side was William and Connor, next to Xander was Wesley and Cordelia. The teachers felt confident that they will be able to train these girls, well for the battle before them will be a struggling one.

The girls have been training for days, and Buffy had tried her best to avoid Xander. Unfortunately, Cordelia didn't choose her this time. The two looked at each and stood in silence for a while.

"I guess we should get this over with," said Buffy.

"I'm glad you're trying," said Xander.

"What's the use? He will always be stronger than us." Xander shakes his head.

"This is fear. You need to fight that, Buffy. There is no way that you'll be able to control your powers if you don't know how to control your emotions. Your powers are tide to them. If you fear something, it weakens you."

"I don't…"

"Don't what?" Xander started to walk around her. "Do you fear me? I have nothing up my sleeve. Come on, hit me."

"Stop it."

"Stop. Stop what? You getting angry? Good, because you'll need that to defeat him. It's going to prove that you can beat him. He's afraid of you. It's deep down in his gut, and you need to use that weakness to get him."

"You don't know him."

"And you do. You think…"

"I was his prisoner for two days. I know how dangerous he can be. I know why my mother gave me up, and kept me as far away from this place as possible. That was the only good thing that she has done for me. I was…"

"Safe." Xander nodded his head and continued to walk around her. He sighed. "He would have found you, and he did."

"You were following us. Maybe you were the one who led him to us."

"No, I was sent to protect you."

"That's not true. The instant you appeared, our world has been turned upside down. We would have been better never coming. Joyce sent us away, and for a good reason. We should have never come back." Buffy turned and tried to walk away, but Xander grabbed her arm.

"My gosh, you're so stubborn."

"Let go of my…" Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Xander was sent flying across the room. He broke a wall made of bricks. Buffy gasped at what she had done and looked at her hands, which had some sort of electrical charges. They disappeared, and she looked at the broken wall.

"Oh my gosh," said Cordelia from the other side of the broken wall. "What happened?"

"I…"

"Xander?" Cordelia began to search through the rubble.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" asked Giles. Everyone followed behind him. He saw Buffy, who looked confused. Giles walked over to her.

"I didn't know I was using it and he went…I don't want to do this anymore."

"You need to try again."

"NO!"

"Buffy, that wall was solid brick. The force that you exerted to break it was very strong, and using Xander as a target would be considered a death wish."

"Death." Buffy looked at Giles, with a horrified expression. "No, he can't be."

"Raise the bricks. Use your power."

"I can't." Buffy nodded her head. "I don't know how."

"Yes, you can. Do it. NOW!" Giles pushed her closer to the fallen wall.

Buffy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Suddenly, one of the bricks lifted into the air.

"You're doing it. Lift them all."

More bricks started to levitate up, until they could see an injured Xander lying lifeless on the ground. Buffy opened her eyes and saw the bricks floating in the air, then she saw Xander. She quickly ran over to him.

"Buffy, don't."

Everyone expected for the bricks to fall on Buffy and Xander, but they didn't. They continued to float in the air.

"Xander," said Buffy as she cradled him in her arms. "Please, wake up. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Tears were streaming from her eyes.

"It takes more than a ton of bricks to kill me," said Xander with a groggy voice. Buffy hugged him hastily and tightly. Xander felt a little pain, but decided to bear it since he had never seen Buffy react this way about him.

Giles cleared his throat, which made Buffy part with Xander. They both turned to him, wondering what he wanted to say.

"Could you two move?" said Giles as he pointed at the floating bricks above them.

"You're doing that?" asked Xander.

"Yeah," replied Buffy, looking at the bricks.

"That's amazing." William and Wesley slowly approached Xander and helped him up, and away from the floating bricks. Buffy walked right behind them and as soon as she was cleared from the path of the bricks, they came crashing down.

"Incredible," said Giles.

AN: I know I've been away far too long. I'm sorry to the fans but it's extra long for your reading pleasure. ENJOY!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

The training went on for days, and the girls were getting the hang of it. Willow's strong suit was the spells, but her power of the sun was phenomenal. Her fire sign and her ability to tap on energy instantly were most promising for a beginner. Dawn, on the other hand, was strongest at fighting, and her water and freezing powers gave her an edge on that. Tara was strongest with stellar gravitational powers that seemed to move things almost at the speed of light. As for Buffy, her intense telekinetic like powers were most improved. She did however gain control of her emotions, especially when she was around Xander.

When the sun rested, so did the girls. They feasted to wonderful meals made by Darla every night. Fighting and using magic really took a lot from the girls, and every single grain would help them keep strong. After dinner, Buffy was on her way to her room when Giles called her.

"What is it?" asked Buffy.

"I'm very impressed with your progression in your abilities," said Giles. "You've gained quite a good control on them."

"I wouldn't say that. I broke three vases today."

"You're doing well."

"Thanks." Buffy was about to turn to go when Giles spoke again.

"There is one thing."

"What?" She turned back toward Giles.

"I'd like to train you more one on one on everything."

"Why? I'm doing great with Xander and Cordelia…"

"I think that you could better focus on the task at hand with a single trainer. It's beneficial to your training and I…"

"Giles, what are you trying to say?"

"You have incredible gifts and they need to be honed in a certain way. I can help you with that."

"And Xander can't?"

"It's not that he can't. Buffy, you're my daughter, as is Tara and I feel I should be the one…"

"You don't want me learning from Xander. Is that it?"

"That and more. He doesn't have the capabilities to take on a student like you."

"He's a wizard just like you. Why wouldn't he know?"

"That's just the problem."

"You don't trust him."

"You didn't trust him before, either."

"That was because I didn't know him. Are you telling me to stay away from him because he's a wizard? Why?"

"Because I'm your father and I say so."

"You haven't been my father for 23 years, so don't go around telling me what to do." Buffy turned and walked away. When she got to her room, she slammed the door hard, which made everyone else wonder what all the commotion was about.

"Is everything all right?" asked Cordelia as she walked down the hallway towards Giles.

"Yes," replied Giles. "Everything is fine." He walked past her without a word. Cordelia nodded her head, and then she saw Dawn and Connor holding hands as they walked down the hallway. Dawn saw Cordelia and released Connor's hand.

"Goodnight," said Dawn to Connor as she made her way to her room, passing Cordelia without a word.

"Oh, boy," said Cordelia. "Thank goodness Angel is not here."

The next day in one of the libraries, Willow helped Wesley find a book of spells that his step-mother had told him about. The book held secrets of ancient spells and old powers.

"Bring the light closer," said Wesley as he searched through some large volumes. Willow came closer with a sun ball, which she used as a light source in her hand. "I think this is it." Wesley pulled a book out and headed for the tables in the middle of the room. Willow followed along with her sun ball.

"What does it say?" asked Willow as she looked over Wesley's shoulder.

"It says that the ancient spells can only be said by the old ones or powers, and with them one could gain supreme power." Wesley looked at Willow.

"The old ones? I don't understand."

"Your powers come from an ancient line of witches. It is an old power."

"If these spells can only be said by one of us then…"

"Then Lindsay could not use these ancient spells even if he had the book, unless he stole one of your powers, giving him an old power."

"That's why he wants us dead. Not because we are a threat, but because our powers can gain so much more."

"We need to tell Giles and the others."

"First we need to find our way out of this library."

"Where's the exit?"

"I thought you knew."

"Well, at least we have the crumbs."

"Crumbs?"

"The cookies I gave you."

"I thought they were for eating. Sorry, I got hungry." Wesley nodded his head and chose a direction. Willow followed behind him so not to get lost.

Meanwhile, Tara and William were fencing with each other outside near the small farm that was in the back of the castle. Tara was doing well. Neither were wearing any protective gear and one of Tara's quick movements sliced William's arm. Tara pulled away and dropped her sword.

"I'm sorry," said Tara.

"I'm fine," replied William, trying to man up for his battle wound. Tara walked over to him and grabbed his arm to take a look at the wound she had inflicted on him. Her look of concern was sincere.

"We should go inside and get it cleaned up." William looked at her aqua, blue green eyes and was mesmerized.

"Okay." Her touch gave him a warm feeling that he has never felt before. He then took a deep breath and they headed toward the entrance of the castle.

As they began to walk into the castle, a strange beam hurled behind them, crashing into the door that they entered and pushing the two inside onto the floor. The whole castle shimmered and everyone inside noticed something had happened.

"What was that?" asked Darla as she walked down the hallway. Giles was next to her and knew it could only be one thing. Darla looked at Giles.

"The castle's been penetrated," said Giles.

"What does that mean?"

Buffy, from her room noticed the light and quickly headed out. She ran into Xander and the two walked down the hallway. They suddenly stopped when they saw Lindsey at the end of the hall.

"Buffy, run!" said Xander as he starts up a spell.

"No, I'm not leaving…" She wasn't able to finish her sentence and Xander his spell because Lindsey had sent a powerful force at the two, pushing them towards the wall.

"Nice place you've got here," said Lindsey as he walked toward the two. "It's too bad it wasn't enough to keep me out."

Giles and Darla reached William and Tara, who still lay on the floor near the back entrance of the castle. They helped them up and told them they didn't know what hit them. Cordelia met up with them and she knew just like Giles who got into the castle.

"He's here," said Cordelia. "Where's Dawn?"

"He who?" asked Darla, turning to Giles, and then looking at Cordelia.

"Lindsey," replied Giles. "He's here for the girls."

"We'll fight him together," said Tara as she grabbed Giles' hand.

"No, you can't. You're strongest together. You need to be together."

"What do we do?"

Back in the hallway, Lindsey was slowly making his way to Buffy and Xander. From one of the rooms, Dawn and Connor kept hidden, but Lindsey knew they were there. As he approached the room, he made the door swing open, but to his surprise no one was in the room. He wondered what trick they were pulling on him.

As Lindsey entered the room, Buffy and Xander were able to get up and attempted to escape, but it was useless. Lindsey knew they would try and return to the hallway. He used his telekinetic powers, which he had stolen from a witch and pushed Xander onto the wall.

"Go," Xander tried to mumble, but Buffy wouldn't listen. Lindsey approached her and attempted to hypnotize her, another of his stolen powers. He then noticed the emerald stone hanging around her neck.

"Joyce?"

Buffy grabbed her necklace and a lot of power was building up inside her. She raised her hand up towards him. A strong force emanated from her hand but it did not faze him. Lindsey brushed it off and pushed Buffy to the ground.

"Always trying to play hard to get," said Lindsey with a smirk. He then looked at Xander. "As for you, wizard. You're not very good at training witches. Your powers aren't even worth taking." He pulled a dagger from his cloak and plunged it into Xander's gut. "I'll just let it leak here. It's a waste." Lindsey then released him and let him crumble to the ground.

"NO!" yelled Buffy when she saw the events unfold before her eyes.

"Joyce. I knew it was you. It's been…" Lindsey was cut off when Buffy slapped him hard in the face. The slap could be heard down the hallway and everyone heard it. "You always had spunk. I loved that about you."

Lindsey walked over to her and picked her up. Buffy tried to struggle, but her sadness for Xander overpowered her senses. Lindsey made a disappearance act along with Buffy.

Dawn and Connor were the first to reach Xander. He was holding his wound, but his hand was completely full with blood.

"Oh my gosh," said Dawn. "Don't move." She looked at Connor. "Get help, Connor." Dawn kneeled beside Xander and pressed on his wound.

"You need to…" Xander tried saying. "Buffy…"

"Be quiet and stay still. We should have come and helped you…"

"No, it's all right."

"You wouldn't be in this state and Buffy…"

"You couldn't fight him alone, and Connor wasn't going to let you."

Wesley and Willow arrived just realizing that they had been attacked. The two were lost in the enormous library, but had finally managed to get out. Giles and the others arrived as well, with Connor leading them to where he had left Dawn.

"What happened?" asked Willow.

"Lindsey," replied Dawn. "He got in."

"Where is Buffy?" asked Giles, looking at Dawn who decided to avoid his eyes. He looked at Connor, then at Xander. "He took her, didn't he? You couldn't even protect her. You're a disgrace to all wizards. How could you dare let a warlock overpower you?"

"Stop it, Giles," said Dawn. "He tried."

"And failed miserably."

"We need to stop blaming each other," said Tara. "He may have caught us off guard, but he still thinks he needs one of us to get our powers. Let's put our training to the test."

"Well, there is one thing," said Wesley. Everyone looked at him.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars

Buffy and Lindsey appeared at a dark cave and with the flick of his fingers, Lindsey lighted up torches that surrounded them on the walls. Buffy turned around following each of the lighted torches, until the last one was lit and turned to Lindsey. Her eyes were tear stricken as Lindsey looked at her like lion to its prey.

"I thought you were…" said Lindsey trying to walk toward her. Buffy backed away. "I would never hurt you."

"What is this place?" asked Buffy.

"Don't you remember? Our first meeting." Lindsey claimed as he remembered the first time he had met Joyce. "You were running to hide from the rain. How eccentric, a witch scared of the rain." Lindsey laughed. "There you were, all wet and cold. I couldn't help myself but to be drawn to you."

"I'm not…" Lindsey closed in on her and hushed her with his fingers on her lips.

"You wore this beautiful green dress. I charmed you without using any magic. It was pure magic, our connection. Just like I know now who you are, Joyce."

Buffy remained speechless as Lindsey caressed her cheek. Deep in her mind she thought that maybe Lindsey might have some insight on her mother. She didn't want to play with the warlock, but she's done it once. This time he is the one completely mesmerized.

"I remember," said Buffy in a meek voice. "It's been a long time." Trying to show some kind of intimacy with Lindsey, she hugged him tightly. Lindsey wrapped his strong arms around her as well. Buffy felt scared, but if she could find out what made Lindsey soft with her mother, then she could bring him down. She has to do this for Xander, whom he murdered before her very eyes.

Back at the castle, Xander opened his eyes. He saw a blurry image of a blonde walking away from where he was. Xander wanted to get up, but pain struck him hard and he winced. The blonde image came back to him and placed a wet cloth on the wound that hurt him.

"Buffy," said Xander, thinking that the blonde must be her.

"She's not here," said Darla in a soft voice. "Don't speak. Don't move."

The door to the room where they were in opened harshly and in came Giles. He looked at Darla and she walked up to him to talk to him.

"He isn't dead yet," said Giles.

"Giles," said Darla. "He keeps asking for her every time he wakes."

"We tried everything in locating her. Nothing is working. He must have taken her somewhere magic can't penetrate."

"What are you going to do?"

"Risk it. Lindsey has no idea that Buffy is Joyce's daughter. He will come after Willow, Tara, and Dawn to obtain the ancient power."

"What if he finds out about Buffy?"

"He won't. He is not that smart."

"I know you're trying everything you can to find Buffy, I know I would," said Darla. "But you're not the only one trying."

"He did nothing to save her." Giles glared at Xander.

"How could you have done better?"

Giles looked at her in shock that she had said that to him. Before he could speak, Tara entered the room.

"Dad," called Tara. Giles was speechless when he heard that word come out of Tara's mouth. It was soft and sweet. She sounded concerned when she said it, knowing very well that he had been worrying about Buffy since she was taken. "I think we found what we're looking for."

Everyone met in one of the libraries, except for Xander. They surrounded Wesley, who carried an ancient book.

"We know Lindsey's motive and that is to get this ancient power, and to do that he must obtain old powers," said Wesley. "Those powers are yours." Wesley pointed at Willow, Tara, and Dawn. "And come from generations before you. We have the book with the spell."

"You're thinking what I think you're thinking," said Cordelia.

"Why not? If Lindsey has them, how are we stop him? The powers in the right hands will be the perfect solution."

"These girls just started to learn how to use their powers, and you want to give them more? No, absolutely not."

"Giles, think about it."

"I have and it's crazy," said Giles.

"What other choice do we have?" asked Darla.

"We give him what he wants," said Tara everyone looked at her. "Us."

"That is out of the question," said Giles. "You are not ready to fight an opponent like Lindsey."

"Neither can you, but together we can."

Willow took the ancient book from Wesley's hand and in an instant; Tara formed a force field around the girls, not letting anyone in.

"Dawn, don't do this," said Connor as he banged on the shield.

"I'm sorry, I have to," replied Dawn. She looked at Cordelia. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Tara, get this shield down right now," said Giles.

"I can't do that," said Tara. "You'll understand why some day."

"No."

William stared at Tara with concern eyes. He didn't say a word but he spoke volumes with his eyes to Tara. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

"I'm sorry, Wesley," said Willow.

"Willow, please…" Before he could beg her to stay, the girls join hands, chanted a spell, and vanished.

"They're gone," Cordelia said.

The girls appeared in Lindsey's castle. They were surprised that their spell had worked and looked around. Dawn attempted to wonder and released Tara's hand.

"No," said Tara. "We need to stick together. We're strongest together."

"Naughty girls," said Drusilla from down the hallway. "You shouldn't be roaming the halls. Daddy wouldn't like it." Drusilla was ready to ram into them, when Tara quickly grabbed Dawn's hand and they used their powers to stop her. Then in an instant, they pushed her toward the wall.

"Wow, we did that," said Willow.

"Where's Lindsey?" asked Tara.

Drusilla glared at the girls and turned her head away. She knew he had gone and whom he was with.

"He's not here," said Dawn.

"How do you know?" asked Tara.

"Could read it in her face."

"Where is he?"

Back at Giles' castle, Xander finally wakes and remembered what happened. With an enormous amount of pain, he got up and gets his shirt back on. As he was about to head for the door, Darla entered the room. She was surprised to see him up and about.

"Xander," said Darla. "You shouldn't be moving. You need to rest."

"I'm fine," said Xander as he passed right by her and exited the room. He finds Giles walking down the hallway and confronts him head on. "We need to do the teleportation spell. There are three of us, we can…"

"No, that is out of the question. It's insanity."

"Insanity. Insanity is that we haven't done a thing to help your daughter. I'm going to do this. Help me."

"If the girls did it," said Cordelia, turning to Giles. "I think we should give it a try."

"The girls?" Xander turned around to Cordelia.

"Tara, Willow, and Dawn used that same spell to go save Buffy," said William.

"Why didn't you…"

"You think we didn't try?" said Giles.

"They had it planned," Cordelia said. "They are stronger than us. Even if we would have tried, we wouldn't have been able to stop them."

"They're falling into his lap. We can't go after them without some kind of a plan."

"Think of one fast. You've got ten minutes." Xander turned to Wesley. "Wesley, the book of Enchanting." Wesley knew what book he meant and tossed it to him. Xander flipped through the pages and walked over to Cordelia.

"You know this is crazy," said Cordelia.

"Got any better ideas?" said Xander.

Giles walked over to the two. Xander ignored him for a minute, then looked at him. He seemed to be waiting for Giles to say something when a thought immediately came to his mind.

"… _He must have taken her somewhere magic can't penetrate." _He remembered saying to Darla earlier about a possible place where Lindsey could have taken Buffy.

"They are not at his castle," said Giles.

"How do you know?" asked Xander.

"Because…"

"Where are they?"

"Somewhere magic can't penetrate."

Everyone thought of a place, but no one could think of a name at all. They all looked back at Giles, who seemed to have the answer.

"The caves behind the silver falls," said Giles.

"Those caves are full of quartz," said Cordelia.

"Magic can't penetrate or escape," Xander said. "Then we teleport outside of it."

"The Silver Falls," said Wesley. "My step-mother has told me of this place. It's very dangerous."

"It was the last place Joyce went to when…"

"Maybe we should have thought of some other plan," said Darla, a little concerned for Giles' feelings towards the place.

"It's all right," Giles said as he took a deep breath. "It was her favorite place. He knew that it was. I know that he'd take her there."

"Then we're going to do this?" said Xander.

"Yes."

"Cordy?"

"Do I have choice?" said Cordelia. They all looked at her. "Yeah, I'm in."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.

Xander found the spell in the book and memorized the spell they needed. He gave the book back to Wesley, and turned to Cordelia and Giles. Cordelia took his hand, but Giles hesitated.

"Wait," said Darla. "How will you get inside? You said there was quartz. No power can get in or out."

"They'll have to get into the falls without using magic," said Wesley. "The old fashioned way."

"I'm going to get wet, aren't I?" said Cordelia.

"What about the girls?" asked William. "They don't know about Silver Falls."

"I'm sure they'll figure it out," said Giles as he walked over to Xander and Cordelia. "What are we waiting for?"

"You," Xander said. Giles grabbed Cordelia's hand, and then Xander's.

"Good luck," Wesley said.

The three begin to say the spell and before the chant was finished, they were gone. They appeared in a beautiful forest full of greenery, and from a distance they could hear the waterfall of Silver Falls. The three followed the sound of the waterfall.

Meanwhile at Lindsey's castle, the girls made their way out of the castle unharmed. Drusilla did not try to attack again, but she did send a message to Lindsey. Tara, Willow, and Dawn wandered outside of the castle, which led to a forest.

"What do we do now?" asked Dawn.

"I don't trust her," said Willow. "We should go somewhere else."

"I don't either but…" Tara said. "If she's our sister, then we should be able to sense her."

"We've tried that," Dawn said. "We couldn't."

"She's gotta be some where…"

"…where magic can't penetrate," Tara said. "That's why we can't sense her."

"Well, how are we supposed to find her if we can't sense her using our powers?"

"Oh, I've got an idea," said Willow. She hands the spell book to Tara and stands in the middle of the road, with her eyes closed.

"What are you doing?" asked Tara.

"If we can't use magic to find her and she is in a place where magic is deflected, then if we use our magic to find which way our magic is being deflected then we'll find our way to her."

Tara and Dawn looked at each other, then at Willow.

"Does that make any sense?"

"I think so," said Tara. "Let's try it. You point East, I'll do West, and Dawn you try North."

They each tried a spell to each direction and no deflection. "It must be South." Tara tried her magic, and it got deflected.

"South it is," said Willow. The girls began their journey South of their locations. They were heading the right direction, which was towards Silver Falls.

Back in the caves of Silver Falls, Lindsey lingered around Buffy as she explored the cave, pretending to know the place. Buffy would close her eyes and pretend to remember something, then smile. Lindsey remained at a distance at times, letting Buffy walk around.

"How did you do it?" asked Lindsey.

"Do it?" asked Buffy as she turned to face him.

"You died. I saw with my very eyes. How could you have faked that?"

Buffy took one deep breath and bit her lip. She has no idea how to answer that question, yet it's the question she had wanted to know the answer as well.

"Does it matter?" said Buffy. "I'm here."

"It matters." Lindsey's voice was forceful.

"Why? Why talk about…"

"That day is burnt into my skull forever. You told me you were here to kill me."

Buffy looked at Lindsey in shock, but quickly changed it to sadness. She didn't say anything in hopes that he continued, and she learned more about her mother's death.

"You said you came from a line of powerful witches, and I was a threat to you." Lindsey remained quiet for a minute. "I loved you!"

Buffy felt the intensity in Lindsey's eyes when he yelled those words to her. To Joyce. She had a bad feeling about what he would say next, and she wished she was not playing this game with him anymore.

"You said…"

"_I can't love you and I can't kill you, but I won't let you have my powers." Joyce was face to face with Lindsey in the caves behind Silver Falls. She pulls out a golden amulet and showed it to Lindsey. It glowed and got Lindsey's attention. She had taken her powers and inserted them into the amulet. _

"_Yes, I'm a warlock and I want powers, especially yours. I've known all along who you are, but you captivated a part of me that I myself have never known." He came closer to Joyce and grabbed her hand that had the amulet. Grabbing it from her hands, he threw it through the falls. Joyce was surprised that he had done that, and looked into his eyes. Lindsey caressed her cheek. "I don't want us to be enemies. I want to be with you."_

"_Lindsey, I have…" Lindsey hushes her with his finger on her lips._

"_I…"_

_Suddenly, Joyce gasped and collapsed unto Lindsey. Lindsey had no idea what was wrong with her, until he laid her on the ground. He then noticed an arrow embedded into her back. Lindsey pulled it out and tried to comfort Joyce. He noticed that the tip of arrow had some sort of residue, and he took a whiff of it realizing what it was immediately _

"_I need to get you out of here. You've been poisoned. I need to heal you."_

"_No, don't." Joyce looked through the waters, and she saw someone drop his bow and arrow. "I was wrong."_

"_Wrong about what?"_

"_You. You're a good warlock." She caressed his cheek._

"_I am?"_

"_Only to me." Joyce coughed a bit. _

"_No, you can't…" Lindsey pulled her close to his chest and began to tear up. _

_Then a man came into the caves and saw Lindsey holding Joyce with blood in his hands. _

"_Get your hands off my wife." Lindsey pulled away and glared at the man. He didn't want to leave, but he had no choice. Although the man who entered the caves had no weapons, Lindsey chose to leave. As he was about to exit through the falls, he looked at the man cradling Joyce in his arms._

"_Joyce. Please forgive me."_

"_I…forgive…you." Joyce caressed his cheek. "Giles…forgive…me…"_

"_Forgive you for what? You haven't done anything…"_

"_Please. My final…wish."_

"_I forgive you." Joyce smiled at Giles._

"_I…love you…" Her hand slid down, and she suddenly grew limp in Giles' arms. He pulled her close and rocked back and forth with her. She was his world. She was all he had and now she was gone._

"Giles," said Buffy, realizing that he had killed her mother.

"Don't you say his name," said Lindsey, getting angry. "The fool could have saved you; instead he stayed there watching as you took your final breaths." Lindsey turned Buffy around harshly to face him. "It doesn't matter. You're here with me now." Lindsey leaned in close to Buffy and was about to kiss her.

"Get your hands off her," yelled Xander from the entrance of the cave. Lindsey turned around to uncover the same words from the past strike him hard. Xander quickly made his way toward where Lindsey and Buffy were standing.

Buffy was in shock and gasped when she saw Xander enter the cave. She couldn't believe that he was alive, and that he came to rescue her.

"I thought I killed you," said Lindsey, turning around to face Xander.

"Try again," replied Xander as he threw a punch at Lindsey. The two began to brawl without any magic or weapons. It was a true and fair man to man fight.

Buffy tried to stay away from the two as they continued to fight, not caring if anyone was in their way. Giles entered the cave and grabbed Buffy by the arm. Buffy turned to him and pulled away from him.

"You killed Mom," said Buffy.

"He told you," said Giles.

"That's why you closed yourself in. Abandoned your castle and everyone else."

"I shot her, but not on purpose. It was your mother's plan. Her goodbye took longer than we expected."

"Why didn't you do anything? Why didn't you save her?"

"Because the poison I put on the arrows was incurable. No matter of magic's or healing potions would have done any good."

"What good is magic if you can't save the people you love?"

"Buffy, you have to understand that even magic has its limits, and because our powers are controlled by our emotions we sometimes don't use them correctly." Giles sighed. "I loved your mother very much. I would have given my life for hers. I never told anyone of how Joyce died, and so they thought she disappeared."

"Why did you think I was her at one time? Just like Lindsey."

"You reminded me of her so much I…"

"Why would he think that she had the power to come back?"

"She doesn't. She couldn't."

Suddenly, they heard a soft splash, then a distant yell. Buffy and Giles looked toward the waterfall, and then noticed that Xander and Lindsey were no longer in the cave.

"Oh, no. Xander!" said Buffy as she tried to look down near the falls. Buffy ran toward the exit of the cave, and bumped into Cordelia.

"Was that…" said Cordelia.

"Yes." Buffy made her way passed Cordelia, and she followed her. They heard a loud splash below.

"Buffy," called Giles. The three got to the bottom, but they saw nothing in the water. They looked all around, and not even bubbles. Buffy looked at Giles.

"They couldn't have just vanished," said Buffy. "Where are they?"

"Well, they could have," said Cordelia.

"What?"

"Silver Falls has strange magic."

"What do you know?"

"Magic can't be used inside the falls, but flowing water generates energy with a little of the quartz powers it…"

"Generates a portal," Giles finished.

"A portal? Where?" asked Buffy.

"Anywhere," replied Cordelia.


End file.
